Artwork
Au pied du Sinaï: La Prière des Juifs Polonais
Au pied du Sinaï: La Prière des Juifs Polonais is a print by the Impressionist artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. It dates from 1898 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1898, *Au pied du Sinaï: La Prière des Juifs Polonais* is a print by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. The work portrays a group of Jewish worshippers gathered in a dim interior, their faces indistinct and bodies cloaked in long robes. It is part of the permanent collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
Subject & Meaning
The composition captures a moment of communal prayer, likely referencing a gathering of Polish Jews at the foot of Mount Sinai. All figures are oriented toward a single focal point, emphasizing collective devotion. The anonymity of the faces suggests a universal rather than individual representation of faith.
Technique & Style
Toulouse-Lautrec employs vigorous, dark contours that give the image a sketch‑like, grainy texture. The rough line work and limited tonal range convey the subdued lighting of the interior and align with late‑nineteenth‑century approaches to depicting religious scenes, where emphasis was placed on atmosphere over precise detail.
History & Provenance
Born into French aristocracy in 1864, Toulouse-Lautrec endured severe leg injuries in his teens, which shaped his perspective on urban life and its marginal figures. By the 1890s he was active in Paris’s artistic circles, producing works that documented diverse social groups. The print eventually entered the Cleveland Museum of Art’s collection, where it remains on view.
Artist & collection
Artist
Comte Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Montfa (24 November 1864 – 9 September 1901), known as Toulouse-Lautrec (French: ), was a French painter, printmaker, draughtsman, caricaturist, and illustrator.
Le château de la mort (The House of the Dead)
Le Voyageur à l'Abri
Et un autre ange sortit du temple qui est au ciel, ayant lui aussi une faucille tranchante (And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, and he also having a sharp sickle)
It Is the Devil, Bearing Beneath His Two Wings the Seven Deadly Sins
Weary
Le château de la mort (The House of the Dead)
Discreet (Discrète)
The Murder (Le Meurtre)
Woman with a Vase (La femme au vase)
Bowing to the Audience (Saluant le public)
And Another Angel Came Out of the Temple which is in Heaven, and He also Having a Sharp Sickle
Au pied du Sinaï: Arrestation de Schlomé Fuss