return to Art of the Four Children Gallery #2
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Istvan Zador, Four Children (Budapest, 1924)
Abandoning the medieval types and their identifying props (sword and book), Zador shows faces differentiated only by their expressions and the position of their hands. His wise type may even be a woman — the only woman among the illustrations of the Four Children in any of the Haggadot before the rise of Jewish feminism. Her wisdom is reflected not in bookishness but in a pained expression of deep thought concentrated in the forehead. The wicked type raises a cynical eyebrow as he leans on his fist and half smiles self-contentedly. The third and fourth figures are more childlike in dress with wrinkleless foreheads. The open eyes, open mouth and raised eyebrows of the simple one express interest and astonishment.