Jussuf Abbo portrayed the Expressionist poet and playwright, Else Lasker-Schüler, several times
during the 1920s. The following work is a lithograph from 1923:
Else Lasker-Schüler wrote a poem about Jussuf Abbo and his work. The poem was first published in the Berlin
newspaper, the "Berliner Börsen-Courier", on July 15 1923.
The poem (translated in English):
Jussuff Abbu
His good mother
On the low divan, he rests, as if at his parents' home.
In Safed, beneath a heavenly sky,
Jussuff's mother thinks longingly of him.
And in the clay garden, his studio,
White people, veiled in stone, gaze gently,
And mysteriously to the East.
Jussuff Abbu's stone creatures live a pious life.
Artistic creations, their treasures lie hidden.
Revealing their fine qualities requires careful attention.
With melancholy, the stone breathes,
Lovingly, the lips smile,
Within the marble girl, a heart blossoms.
There! Behind an iron grille! Am I dreaming?
Abbu's young brown spotted tiger lets out a roar:
"Zuckeri nja siddi?"
Respectfully, Jussuff addresses his guest,
"Lord" Mohammed.
And in doing so, he confirms the sovereignty of all noble animals.
He speaks the language of Bedouin princes,
Who learned their sounds from desert birds.
As a child he would ride with the tribes on wild horses.
Jussuff's heart has remained pure white,
Yet his brows grow, forest-like,
Darkening his Galilean eyes.
He sings the psalm of the Yemenite priests,
With every note floating, Hebraically, to Jehovah,
From Abbu's sacred temple of art, into the blue Realm.
Else Lasker-Schüler, 1923
Translation by Sebastian Abbo, 2018
The poem (in German):
Jussuff Abbu
Seiner guten Mutter
Er ruht auf seinem niederen Diwan wie im Elternhaus.
Das steht in Safeth unter schwärmerischem Himmel,
In ihm denkt sehnsüchtig die Mutter an den Jussuff.
Und auf der Tonplantage seines Ateliers,
Die weißen Menschen blicken leis vom Stein verschleiert,
Geheimnisvoll nach Osten.
Erschaffen kunstvoll und verhüllt behütet,
Fromm leben Jussuff Abbus Steingeschöpfe.
Sorgfältig forschen muß man ihren Wert.
Es atmet schwermütig der Stein,
Es lächeln Lippen lieblich liebentlang,
Im Marmormädchen blüht ein Herz.
-! Da - hinter Eisengittern - ja träumt man?
Brüllt Abbus junger Tiger braungefleckt:
"Zuckeri nja siddi?"
Ganz ehrerbietig redet Jussuff seinen Gast:
"Herr" Mohammed an.
So er beweist die Hoheit aller Edeltiere.
Und spricht die Sprache der Beduinenfürsten,
Die von den Wüstenvögeln ihre Laute lernten.
Als Kind ritt er auf wildem Pferde mit den Stämmen.
Ganz weiß ist Jussuff Abbus Herz geblieben.
Doch seine Brauen, urwäldlich verwachsen,
verfinstern seine Galiläeraugen.
Sucht er den Psalm der Jemeniterpriester,
Schwebt jeder Harfenton hebräisch zu Jehovah
Vom heiligen Künstlertempel Abbus bis ins blaue Reich.
Else Lasker-Schüler, 1923