Ze'ev Raban – Colorful Sketch for The Song of Songs

"Shecora Ani veNava", sketch for an illustration for The Song of Songs, by Ze'ev Raban. [ca. 1911-1918].
Pencil and watercolor on paper.
A colorful sketch for an illustration – the verse "Shechora ani veNava". By the sketch appear small illustrations in pencil. On the back of the leaf appear a number of additional sketches in watercolor and in pencil, among them one for the verse "LeSusati Berichve Paro".
In the years 1911 to 1918, Raban created a series of watercolor illustrations for The Song of Songs. The series, which included tenty five illustration, was first published in 1923 ("HaSefer" publishing house, Berlin) and is considered one of his greatest creations.
Leaf: 23X29 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains. Open tears, repaired, at margins (not affecting sketches). Attached to passé par-tout at upper margins.
Literature: Ze'ev Raban, a Hebrew Symbolist, by Batsheva Goldman-Ida (Tel Aviv Museum of Art and Yitzchak Ben-Zvi Institute, 2001), items no 31.1, 38.