Invoking Samuel Hirszenberg's Artistic Legacy - Encountering Exile

Samuel Hirszenberg (1865-1908), the Łódź-born artist, created several signature works of art that would emerge as emblematic of the Jewish historical experience of the twentieth century. Exile (1904) is one of these works that came to evoke the trials and tribulations of Jewish fate in the decades following its creation. After placing Exile in the context of Hirszenberg's oeuvre, this essay charts its cultural and artistic reception over close to a century in diverse media. Exile evoked instinctive, negative responses alongside a deep sense of identification and appropriation. The essay illuminates the ways in which a seminal work of art can engender intense interaction over decades, allowing a wide range of interpretations, references, and quotations.