Border for The Ten Commandments. New Canaan, 1946.

SZYK, Arthur. Border for The Ten Commandments. Signed and Dated “New Canaan, (19)46 Arthur Szyk”. Watercolor and gouache on board. Sheet size: 6 1/4″ x 5″. Image size: 6 1/8″ x 4 3/4″.  Very Good condition.

In this image the Ten Commandments are painted at the bottom center flanked by a stag and a crowned lion. The top center of the painting contains the royal icon of a jeweled crown. The imagery of Persian carpets is evoked throughout the rest of the border’s design. It features flowers, leaves and vines, jewels, arabesques, and geometric patterns. Szyk’s palette was pulled from the rainbow: brilliant oranges, shimmering blues and greens, and intense reds.

Szyk incorporated the use of elaborately decorative borders in many of his most famous illustrated books. In most cases a single illuminated border was created for an entire series (The Canterbury Tales, Book of Esther, The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, etc.) for visual unity, to link the images, and expediency.

This border appeared on the front and back covers of Szyk’s publication The Ten Commandments (see below).

Provenance: Alexandra Szyk Bracie, daughter of Arthur Szyk.

Publishing History: The Ten Commandments illustrated by Arthur Szyk, Philadelphia and Toronto: The John C. Winston Company, 1947, front and back covers, and page 1.