Puzzle

A visitor to Omniglot is doing some research on the painting below and would like to decipher the signature. Can you help?

Painting

Close-up of signature

Close-up of signature

The writing looks like cursive Hebrew to me.

April 19th, 2011 in Puzzles, Writing

Comments (10)

TJApril 19th, 2011 at 6:26 pm

Indeed. More like a cursive Hebrew. But we have to remember that Yiddish is also written in Hebrew letters.
I can realize Aleph (A) and Tsadi (ts).
Aleph is made of 2 strokes, close to “1 (” [with bracket being small].
Tsadi is the 3-shaped letter.

LevApril 19th, 2011 at 7:56 pm

Indeed, cursive Hebrew. I would say it’s “האדלר אד.”, but I’m not sure about the לר, they could be טי instead. I’d guess the painter’s last name is Hadler.

mnrApril 19th, 2011 at 11:43 pm

Perhaps, it spells out (forgive my writing out all the letters, but I’m not sure how they fit together and can’t type the Hebrew out on my computer): hay alef daled tet resh/yod? aleph tsade. I have to admit I have no idea what name that forms, or what vowels might go where…

Christopher MillerApril 20th, 2011 at 2:43 am

Following up on Lev-

The name suspiciously like Adler to me, and a web search for Israeli artists with this name quickly yielded Adolf (Adi) Adler (1917-1996), a Romanian-Israeli artist. If you mouse around over the painting at the URL below, you will see the same signature in the bottom corner of the floating blow-up:

http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/7609550

Same in the bottom left corner here:

http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/8414241

Slightly different, with a more formal dalet in the bottom right, here:

http://vandm.com/Adolf-Adler-1917-1996-Klezmer-Musicians-in-Oil/3_239_60=560_product=136419.aspx

The image on the right here is a close-up of the signature:

http://www.itaggit.com/Collection/eBay-Catalog/167562/Thing/1204516-1-85159/Signed-Oil-Painting-by-famous-artist-Adi-Adler

And finally, in the bottom right here:
http://www.itaggit.com/Collection/eBay-Catalog/167562/Thing/1204516-1-85159/Signed-Oil-Painting-by-famous-artist-Adi-Adler

I wonder why the name is preceded by what seems to be the Hebrew definite article in his signature?

TJApril 20th, 2011 at 4:59 am

Case solved/closed!!!

TJApril 21st, 2011 at 5:04 am

Maybe the “ha” preceding the name is like an “exaggeration” form. Like in German or English even when you tell someone “I’m THE (your name)” and such.
Or, it can be like how it is in Arabic surnames, where they mostly start by “Al-” (which is the definite article as well).

bronzApril 21st, 2011 at 6:43 am

I see a few sources attributing him as Adolf R Adler, so it is possible the first letter is not ה but ר followed by a dot.

JPApril 26th, 2011 at 11:34 am

Thanks to all posters for the information !!

Painting is also signed on the back to a friend.

DanielMay 3rd, 2011 at 4:29 am

bronz, your theory sounds much more plausible.
TJ, there is no such custom in Hebrew.

DrabkikkerMay 4th, 2011 at 8:23 am

So, for superfluicity’s sake, the signature reads:
.ר. אדלר אד
that is:
R. Adler Ad.