Born in Marimpol, Lithuania, Rosenthalis studied at the Vilnius Academy of Fine Arts, exposed to the social realism of the Soviet Union. His experiences as a soldier and illustrator for the Red Army during World War II profoundly influenced his artistic vision. In 1951, he won first prize at an exhibition of Lithuanian painting at the Tretyakov Museum in Moscow, which acquired four of his works.
In 1958, he emigrated to Israel and devoted himself to painting and teaching. Exposed to local light and colors, as well as new Western styles, he developed a more abstract and expressive style, transforming shapes and lines into joyful compositions of harmony and rhythm. He divided his time between studios in Jaffa and Safed, where he became a prominent member of the art colony.
Rosenthalis exhibited in Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, and Israel, with a major retrospective at the Herzliya Museum in 1983. He taught at numerous institutions, including the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem. He died in 2008 at the age of 86, but remains renowned for his mastery of color and his major contribution to Israeli art.
