La Ghriba Djerba, Tunisia

Jules Lellouche

1939–1949

Painting depicting arches and pews inside of a synagogue.
Jules Lellouche painted the interior of this synagogue in Djerba during World War II, when Tunisia was ruled by Vichy France. Though Tunisia’s Jewish community escaped mass deportations and murder in death camps, it was subject to antisemitic policies. Several thousands were sent to forced labor camps, and in accordance with Vichy laws, the Jews were forced to wear the yellow Star of David and much private property was confiscated. Lellouche painted this picture in the impressionist style for which he was known. He depicted the synagogue as mostly empty, with only the hint of a few worshippers at the far end of the room.

Credits

Private collection. © Estate of Jules Lellouche.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 9.

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Creator Bio

Jules Lellouche

1903–1963

Born in Monastir, Tunisia, Jules Lellouche was a primarily self-taught painter. He demonstrated early talent and briefly studied painting at the Institut Supérieur des Beaux Arts in Tunis. In the early 1920s, Lellouche began to show his work, both portrait and landscape paintings, at the Tunisian Salon. In 1936, he helped form the Groupe de Quatre, which exhibited together at the Galerie Art Nouveau in Tunis. While a student in Tunis, he was awarded a French government scholarship to study in Paris. He would continue to travel to Paris until 1939. There, he was influenced by impressionist and postimpressionist painting, absorbing the artists’ exploration of luminosity and application of brilliant colors and eventually using these works to portray the light of Tunis and the colors of the Mediterranean. In 1955, Lellouche settled permanently in Paris.

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