Palestine, Valley of Kidron

Max Pollak

After moving to the United States in 1927 and after his success with his prints of New York, Max Pollak spent time in the early 1930s in the Holy Land where he found inspiration for a series of color etchings and aquatints, an example being "Palestine, Valley of Kidron", done in 1933.

The Kidron Valley is a long wadi, a ravine in the Holy Land, dividing Jerusalem's Temple Mount from the Mount of Olives. The mountains provided defense for the original Jerusalem. The valley contains the "Pillar of Absalom", the "Tomb of the Sons of Hezir" and the "Tomb of Zachariah."

Pollak's composition views the old city of Jerusalem through a notch created in the mountain. A couple of olive trees have survived and two women gather water from a well.