The Unknown Halutz
1938
A Life’s Path in Ten Images
The booklet presents ten woodcuts, each with a handwritten caption at the bottom of the print, inscribed in pencil by Hoenich himself. It portrays the figure of the halutz (pioneer) as both a concept and an ideal. The artist follows the halutz from the moment he parts from his parents, through his journey by ship as part of a group of pioneers — shown dancing in a circle, waving their arms toward the Haifa breakwater.
Hoenich’s halutz is masculine and strong, embodying the idea of the “new Jew,” identified with physical labor and the building of the land. Modern Tel Aviv is alien to him; he is shown at the bottom of the print withdrawn and detached from the bustling city, with the Mugrabi Cinema prominently in the center. His purpose and happiness are found in construction, defense, and with his partner, walking beside a sabra (prickly pear) hedge. In the series' final print, his tragic end is implied — a coffin is carried on the shoulders of pioneers holding hands in a circle, under the title: “Do not mourn me.”
On the last page of the booklet appears a flame reminiscent of a yahrzeit (memorial) candle, with a note that the booklet was published by a popular press and printed in an edition of 500 copies made directly from the printing plates (not reproductions). The number 27 is handwritten, identifying the copy held by the Art Library of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art.
Hoenich, who sought to promote the image of the halutz and the Zionist ethos, published the booklet through a popular press — a publishing house that aimed to make cultural and ideological content accessible to the general public, including themes like socialism, Zionism, Hebrew culture, Judaism, and national identity. Materials were produced in modest formats such as pamphlets or small booklets, at a low cost suited to the economic conditions of 1930s Palestine.
The book is part of the collection of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art Library and was photographed with its assistance.
- Copies: 500
- Pages: 14
- Type of binding: Paperback
- Languages: Hebrew
- Dimensions (cm): 30x23
- Printing: HaDor Press
- Binding: HaDor Press
- Type of printing: Woodcuts
- Publication: Popular press
- Place of publication: Haifa
- Book photography: Leafing Magazine
Paul Konrad Henich (1907–1997) was born in Czernowitz. He studied art in Vienna, Florence, and Paris, and between 1930 and 1935 he created and taught art in Bucharest. In 1935, he immigrated to the Land of Israel and settled in Haifa with his wife and their son, who was later killed during his military service. In Haifa, he established an art studio and taught two-dimensional design at the Faculty of Architecture at the Technion.
His early work, both abroad and in Israel, focused on oil painting and woodcuts. Henich published three booklets of woodcuts exploring the identity of the Jewish-Israeli and the revival of the people and the land: The Anonymous Pioneer (1938); Exiles’ Road (1943), consisting of thirteen woodcuts that touch on Jewish history; and David, King of Israel (1949), a series of ten woodcuts dedicated to the soldiers who fought in the War of Independence, emphasizing the battle of the few against the many.
His woodcuts are expressive, marked by a stark contrast between black and white, reflecting his encounter with the harsh Israeli light and its pronounced interplay of light and shadow. His prints were strongly influenced by Frans Masereel, a master of woodcut printmaking who, in the 1920s, created expressive woodcut series marked by sharp contrasts of light and dark, influenced by early cinema. Henich’s series ware published as visual novels, which can be consulted in the library of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art.
From the beginning of his artistic journey, Henich was preoccupied with the theme of movement, which he explored through painting and printmaking. In 1966, he was appointed associate professor at the Technion, where he conducted research in the fields of movement and color. Henich developed a technique he called “Sun Painting” (Tziur-Shemesh), in which he placed mirrors and prisms on the Technion’s roof to direct the sun’s rays onto a wall, creating a sequence of images that he documented through photography.
In 2002, the Technion established an experimental art gallery named in his honor. Henich exhibited in Israel and abroad but did not receive the recognition he deserved in Israel — perhaps because his artistic practice did not align with the prevailing artistic canon of his time.
