Canadian Jewish Review

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Title: Canadian Jewish Review

Full text: CAN AD i A n Ji wi i .ft '"RE * tfcw 27, 1928 ¦i I 91,000 Silk Saver Make* Silk Hosiery and Lingerie VVear Three Time* as Loog One Package Treat* 1 o Pair of Hose Cotwolidated Sales Co., Depc. M. 999 Aa^eiact SL, Maetrtal, Qm. tnckied find 35 cents ft tohlck y* 4trt t§ send me 1 fatktgt S4vfr* anting yur men*) b*d^iu*r*nttt. %Addrtn G'tj__ Do oet teoi coux throofb sulk, m (jt ttSCBft. PloM iSiiafc Ossify. EUROPEAN DAIRY Fraah E»r» Rec*hrwvhich he wielded an influence. ¦From the other members of his class Rosenthal was distinguished not by reason of &ny novel departures, but by a uniform excellence in work {and a sustained awareness by "those in authority of his obvious gifts. After completing his scholastic apprenticeship, Rosenthal had visions of further training under European masters. These visions remained just visions. Before long the young artist, amply schooled in poverty and tried by financial disability since coming to America, realized that he was not to be quickly overtaken by zealous acclaim and the moluments of a full-blown recognition. The atmosphere of Baltimore a decade and a half ago was not especially conducive to the enlargement of youthful talent. Rosenthal, speaking harsh gutturals imported from his native Lithuania, failed to gain an entrance into the city's stodgy artistic circles, then dominated by lethargic, uninquiring traditions. Not even the prosperous men of affairs among his co-religionists who collected works of art for the adornment of their homes quite appreciated the significance of his work. They saw in him an aspiring artisan in clay, and no more. They left him to his own devices. Before long Rosenthal found himself face to face w|th a crisis. The spectre of privation haunted the young sculptor's studio. Mere thanH once the impact of necessity c persuaded him to return his back upon his art, hide his exquisite bronzes in a moldy cellar and seek a livelihood as a factory hand. To those who know Rosenthal's life inti-mately, the facts of his struggle for artistic integrity constitute an epic of courage and stamina of peculiarly dramatic power. Only his own moral strength and the dauntless faith of his friends enabled him to nullify the insistent notes of cynicism which invaded the innermost corridors of his'being. It was in the darkest days of his career that Rosenthal embarked upon a unique phase of the sculptor's art, This stratagem in a few years raised him to recognition beyond the borders of his adopted country and won him rewards which not even the purple dreams of early manhood dared envisage. He consecrated his endeavors to works in miniature. With an impetuosity which dazzled all who had come to know his previous work he proceeded to infuse into figures of one inch or two inches in height the very characteristics which had given his larger wrorks their enchanting-quality. Resourceful in thematic material, Rosenthal's task became one of finding enough time for substantiating the numerous subjects which peopled his fancy. The role of his penknife was that of a very wonder-working artistic wand. History, Bible lore, mythology, poetry, sociology, the martyrdom of his people —interminable are the concepts which have acquired translation into throbbing: figures of bronze, gold and silver. His dancing dryads fairly leap for joy. His satyrs and centaurs grimace and taunt. Those of his miniatures, like the "Blind Beethoven" *nd "The Deluge," which found the note of immortal trapr^dy, are as overpowering as though they were figures of heroic dimensions. In the field which he chose for his restless activities, Rosenthal appears to be a solitary worker. The vitality, the tenderness, the glow of life, the laughter, the humorous effervescence, or the start vehemence of his figures come as mystic evocations from the