Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita: Artist Silenced by the Nazis
Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita: The Artist Who Taught Escher - and Was Silenced by the Nazis
Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita (1868 - 1944) was a Dutch artist of extraordinary skill. Born in Amsterdam to a Sephardic Jewish family, he became one of the Netherlands’ most respected graphic artists - known for his powerful, stylised prints of animals, plants, and figures. His career spanned the rise of Art Nouveau, the interwar years, and the slow creep of fascism. But in 1944, his life was cut short. De Mesquita and his wife were murdered at Auschwitz, while their son died in Theresienstadt. Their entire household was looted and destroyed.
What remains - his art - was nearly lost too.
Mentor to M.C. Escher
De Mesquita was not only an artist but also a revered teacher at the School for Applied Arts in Haarlem. One of his most devoted students was M.C. Escher, the now world-famous printmaker. It was under de Mesquita's guidance that Escher learned to master woodcuts and the art of visual precision.
After the war, it was Escher who returned to his old mentor’s ransacked home. He rescued what remained - 136 prints, drawings, and plates - and safeguarded them for future generations. Without that act, much of de Mesquita’s legacy would have vanished entirely.
Nature, Form and Line: The Art of de Mesquita
De Mesquita's work is rooted in the natural world, but elevated by abstraction, rhythm, and design. His striking black-and-white woodcuts often depict owls, marabou storks, monkeys, and stylised flora, all rendered with bold outlines and graphic intensity. The influence of Japanese printmaking is clear, as is his deep love of pattern and precision.
He rarely drew from imagination. Instead, he observed carefully, particularly during his frequent visits to the Artis Zoo in Amsterdam. Yet his subjects often seem surreal, poised between realism and symbolism. His art, like Escher’s, walks a tightrope between the physical and the philosophical.
A Legacy Nearly Lost
In February 1944, de Mesquita, his wife Elisabeth, and their son Jaap were taken from their home and deported by the Nazis. He and Elisabeth were murdered shortly after arriving at Auschwitz. Jaap died months later in Theresienstadt. The exact date of Samuel’s death is recorded as 11 February 1944.
For decades, Samuel's name was nearly forgotten, overshadowed by the fame of his student and the trauma of the Holocaust. But thanks to renewed interest and preservation efforts, de Mesquita’s work is once again being exhibited, collected, and remembered.
Cynefn is proud to feature a large collection of Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita’s work. Each piece - carefully restored in-house - stands as a tribute not only to artistic excellence but to the resilience of a voice nearly silenced.
Explore the collection and bring his vision into your home.
