Donated by Yehudit and Joseph Shadur
Papercuts are an ancient art form widely used in the Far East in shadow plays and for ornamentation and decoration. Papercuts were a popular element in Eastern European Jewish folk art from the 18th century onwards in the “Mizrach” plaques that were hung on the eastern wall of houses, synagogues and sukkot to indicate the direction to Jerusalem. Papercuts also appear as “Shiviti” plaques, Simchat Torah flags or as window decorations for the festival of Shavuot (Shevuoslekh).
The principal motifs appearing on papercuts are similar to the symbols widely used in Jewish art and ritual objects: the seven-branched candlestick, the Tablets of the Covenant, the Torah Crown, Jerusalem and its symbols, and biblical stories such as the Binding of Isaac.
Yehudit Shadur combines these motifs in her work with ornamentation influenced by the Baroque style alongside the animals and plants of Israel. Animals have symbolic Jewish significance drawn from the sources such as “Be strong as a leopard, swift as an eagle, fleet as a gazelle and brave as a lion to do the will of your Father in heaven” (from Pirke Avot 5:20), or the lion that is the emblem of the tribe of Judah and the city of Jerusalem. Animals like gazelles and birds appearing alongside water sources and with the “Tree of Life” symbolize universal messages of life and growth.
Yehudit Shadur (born 1928 in the US, died 2011 in Jerusalem) was a central artist in the genre of papercuts in Israel. The collection of papercuts she donated to MUZA includes over 200 items: papercuts and sketches documenting her work.
