Khmyelnik: Dance of the Shtetl Ghosts – 🏛️ Currently on Museum Exhibition

Historical & Educational Context: Ten Thousand Souls of Khmyelnik „Khmyelnik: Dance of the Shtetl Ghosts” holds a revered place within the 22-canvas cycle Kaddish for Shtetl — it is the foundational work from which Marek Hausmann began the entire series. The painting serves as a direct memorial tribute to the pre-war Jewish community of Chmielnik, where Jewish residents once comprised nearly eighty percent of the town’s population (approximately 10,000 souls). The shtetl was renowned throughout the region for its geese breeding and trade, an integral part of its economic and visual identity.

The Holocaust erased this vibrant civilization; today, not a single descendant remains in the town. The artwork poses a poignant question: “Where did ten thousand souls go?”. In Hausmann’s visionary narrative, the market square has never truly been abandoned. Under the veil of night, memory reclaims the cobblestones, and the past steps forward to defy absolute erasure.

Visual Analysis, Movement, and Symbolism The composition captures an ethereal „ghost dance”. Hasidic figures, enveloped in ecstatic dance and spiritual movement, populate the vacant square alongside white geese — the historic, silent witnesses of shtetl life. Dancing in a void that echoes with remembrance, they fill the silence with a celestial melody that can no longer be heard, yet refuses to die.

Employing rich oil impasto, dynamic figurative rhythms, and deep chiaroscuro, Hausmann creates a sacred threshold between tangible history and enduring metaphysical presence.

Artwork Status & Curatorial Note:

• Not available for commercial acquisition.

• Permanent Museum Gift: This masterpiece is an official gift from artist Marek Hausmann to the permanent collection of the „Świętokrzyski Sztetl” Education and Museum Center in Chmielnik (the historic synagogue), honoring the town’s memory.

Technical Specifications:

• Title: Khmyelnik: Dance of the Shtetl Ghosts / Chmielnik: Taniec duchów sztetla

• Series: Kaddish for Shtetl (from the 22-canvas cycle — Initial Work)

• Artist: Marek Hausmann

• Medium: Oil on canvas

• Dimensions: 60 × 80 cm (approx. 23.6 × 31.5 in)

• Year: 2026

• Signature: Signed by the artist

• Collection: Permanent Collection of the „Świętokrzyski Sztetl” Education and Museum Center in Chmielnik (Artist’s Gift).