way for new Israeli painting. Beginning in the 1980s, a new interpretation of Aroch's works began to surface. Instead of emphasizing the formalistic aspect, art critics began to focus on the contents of Aroch's works, including the elements from Jewish tradition. Aroch was perceived as having made the connection between local Israeli Judaism and universalism. In her article “Agrippa versus Nimrod” (1988), Sarah Breitberg-Semel presented Aroch's work as a model for the design of a new Israeli concept. In her article she attacked the canonical concept in the research literature on the history of Israeli art, with regard to “Nimrod” (1939) by Itzhak Danziger, that saw in it the exclusive representative of Jewish nationalism. “Agripas Street” was put forward by her as a more worthy alternative as a work that combines “Jewish” values with Zionist values. Arie Aroch, in spite of the fact that he was a member of “New Horizons,” offered in his works an alternative to “lyrical abstraction.” Instead of formless abstraction, he suggested concentrating on forms; instead of objectivity, basing the creation on personal handwriting; instead of professionalism, impoverishment of process – using non-traditional techniques to give birth to forms; instead of identifying with French abstract art – citing and using images that belong to various artistic concepts. Thus were born in his works forms from children's paintings, the use of commonplace objects, folk or traditional images or images connected to childhood memories. Arie Aroch influenced young artists more by his thoughts, by his way of combining different images with each other in his paintings, by the apparently meaningless lack of pathos that characterizes his work, by his techniques (erasures, engravings, doodles). Aviva Uri, and after her Raffi Lavie, can be counted among those artists. Education 1924-26 Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Jerusalem 1926-28 Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium, Tel Aviv 1934-35 Colarossi, Paris, with Leger Awards and prizes 1942: the Dizengoff Prize for Painting and Sculpture, Municipality of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Tel Aviv 1955: Tel Aviv Museum's Dizengoff Prize 1968: the Sandberg Prize for Israel Art, Israel Museum, Jerusalem 1971: the Israel Prize for Painting References External links Arie Aroch website Arie Aroch's painting "Boat" sold for $88,500 at Tiroche auction house, January 25, 2019 1908 births 1974 deaths Soviet emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Israel Prize in painting recipients Sandberg Prize recipients Jewish artists 20th-century Israeli painters Académie Colarossi alumni Ambassadors of Israel to Sweden Ambassadors of Israel