Born in Hungary, Gyula Pap moved with his family to Austria when he was thirteen. From 1920 to 1924, he studied metalworking with Johannes Itten at the Bauhaus. In addition to a menorah, Pap created a standing lamp for the common room at the school, as well as many lithographs and photographs. After the war, he served as professor at the University of Fine Arts in Budapest, until his retirement in 1962.