Beregszasz School (classmates and teacher) 1935
Object numberM2017/011:001
TitleBeregszasz School (classmates and teacher) 1935
DescriptionPencil drawing, Beregszasz School (classmates and teacher), by Judy Cassab, 1935.
This drawing of Judy’s classmates and teacher is one of her earliest works, done in Hungary at the age of 15.
Osztályfὃnӧk is best translated as form teacher. The literal translation is class boss. It is a Central European concept. After primary grades when students have specialist teachers for the various subjects they study, there is one teacher who usually teaches a subject but is also responsible for the class in general. This teacher coordinates with other teachers, is responsible for attendance, behaviour, class excursions, etc.
The names of the pupils below are written in the Hungarian rule of surname first, given name second.
Top row, from left
Fái Magda, Reinitz Erzsébet, Orosz Erzsébet, Léb Irén, Wachtenheim Edit
Second row, from left
Blau Margit, Neuwelt Ágnes, Orosz Gyӧrgy - osztályfὃnӧk, Hartman Erzsébet, Fehér Éva,
Third row, from left
Klein Livia, Jeles Gabrielle, Klein Ilona, Stern Éva
Fourth row, from left
Orosz Nóra, Ságh Éva, Lázárovics Ilona, Dévai Rózsa, Kaszab Judith
The artist has spelt her given name as Judith with an “h” at the end. The correct Hungarian spelling is Judit without an “h”. She talks about Anlicising her name from Kaszab to Cassab in her autobiography.
Two pupils and the form teach all share the surname “Orosz”. It means “Russian” and it was and it is not an uncommon name. It is possible that the teacher and the two pupils were related.
The Jewish community of Beregszasz was devastated - 80% murdered in concentration camps; the fate of those depicted in the drawing is unknown.
Judy Cassab was born Judit Kaszab in 1920 in Vienna. She was raised by her mother and grandmother in Beregszasz, Hungary, where she studied art. Judy painted her first portrait at the age of 12 and penned diaries which were later published as a book. She studied art in Prague and at the Budapest Academy, but her studies were disrupted by Nazi occupation and her subsequent time in hiding. ‘…it was the first time in my life that I was not a girl, not a woman, not a human being, but a Jew'. Most of Judy’s immediate family perished in the Holocaust. In 1951, she migrated to Australia with her husband and two young sons. Her first solo exhibition was held at the Macquarie Galleries in Sydney in 1953. Judy Cassab is well-known as a portraitist and significant body of landscapes. She won the Archibald twice, in 1961 and 1963 and has been awarded numerous other awards and honours.
This drawing of Judy’s classmates and teacher is one of her earliest works, done in Hungary at the age of 15.
Osztályfὃnӧk is best translated as form teacher. The literal translation is class boss. It is a Central European concept. After primary grades when students have specialist teachers for the various subjects they study, there is one teacher who usually teaches a subject but is also responsible for the class in general. This teacher coordinates with other teachers, is responsible for attendance, behaviour, class excursions, etc.
The names of the pupils below are written in the Hungarian rule of surname first, given name second.
Top row, from left
Fái Magda, Reinitz Erzsébet, Orosz Erzsébet, Léb Irén, Wachtenheim Edit
Second row, from left
Blau Margit, Neuwelt Ágnes, Orosz Gyӧrgy - osztályfὃnӧk, Hartman Erzsébet, Fehér Éva,
Third row, from left
Klein Livia, Jeles Gabrielle, Klein Ilona, Stern Éva
Fourth row, from left
Orosz Nóra, Ságh Éva, Lázárovics Ilona, Dévai Rózsa, Kaszab Judith
The artist has spelt her given name as Judith with an “h” at the end. The correct Hungarian spelling is Judit without an “h”. She talks about Anlicising her name from Kaszab to Cassab in her autobiography.
Two pupils and the form teach all share the surname “Orosz”. It means “Russian” and it was and it is not an uncommon name. It is possible that the teacher and the two pupils were related.
The Jewish community of Beregszasz was devastated - 80% murdered in concentration camps; the fate of those depicted in the drawing is unknown.
Judy Cassab was born Judit Kaszab in 1920 in Vienna. She was raised by her mother and grandmother in Beregszasz, Hungary, where she studied art. Judy painted her first portrait at the age of 12 and penned diaries which were later published as a book. She studied art in Prague and at the Budapest Academy, but her studies were disrupted by Nazi occupation and her subsequent time in hiding. ‘…it was the first time in my life that I was not a girl, not a woman, not a human being, but a Jew'. Most of Judy’s immediate family perished in the Holocaust. In 1951, she migrated to Australia with her husband and two young sons. Her first solo exhibition was held at the Macquarie Galleries in Sydney in 1953. Judy Cassab is well-known as a portraitist and significant body of landscapes. She won the Archibald twice, in 1961 and 1963 and has been awarded numerous other awards and honours.
Production date 1935 - 1935
Subjectschoolchildren, art, teachers, loss, memory, friendship
Object namepaintings
Dimensions
Language
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Peter Kampfner