Ex Libris and Portrait of Yosef Gensch – Original Drawings by Aleksander Grineff, 1929-1930

Two ink drawings – sketches for an ex-libris and portrait of Yosef (Joe) Gensch, made by the artist Aleksander Grineff (Grinev). Place unnoted, [Estonia? 1929-1930].
1. "Ex-libris Yosef Gensch", sketch for an ex-libris. Ink on paper. Signed and dated: "A. Grinef 1929.
15.5X18.5 cm. Good condition. Stains and creases.
2. "Josif Genss", portrait of Yosef Gensch. Ink on cardboard. Signed and dated "A. Grinef 1930".
A portrait of Gensch inside an ornate gate, adorned with a Star of David, with Egyptian antiquities in the background.
31.5X40.5 cm. Good condition. Staples in upper corner. Stains.
The Gensch family was a well-known Jewish-Estonian family and its members were central figures in the public life and culture of the Jewish community in Tartu, Estonia. Yosef (Joe) Gensch enlisted to the Jewish Brigade during WWI (see: Pinkas HaKehilot, Latvia and Estonia. Published by Yad Vashem, Jerusalem, 1988, p. 354).
Aleksander Grineff (1892-1947), an artist and graphic designer, was born in St. Petersburg and worked in Estonia and in Germany.