Isaak L'vovich Asknaziy (russian: Исаак Львович Аскназий; 16 January 1856, in

Drissa Vierchniadzvinsk ( be, Верхнядзві́нск, lt, Drisa, pl, Dryssa) or Verkhnedvinsk (russian: Верхнедви́нск) is a city in Belarus in the northwest of Vitebsk Region; it is the administrative center of the Verkhnyadzvinsk Ra ...

– 1902, in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

) was a Jewish Russian painter in the

Academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

style, known primarily for his historical and Biblical scenes.

Biography

Brockhaus and Efron Jewish Encyclopedia e3 294-0

He was born to a family of wealthy Hasidic Jewish merchants, with a long

rabbinical Rabbinic Judaism ( he, יהדות רבנית, Yahadut Rabanit), also called Rabbinism, Rabbinicism, or Judaism espoused by the Rabbanites, has been the mainstream form of Judaism since the 6th century CE, after the codification of the Babylonian ...

tradition.Biographical notes
@ Русская живопись (Russian painting). His early education was entirely of a religious nature. Nevertheless, his parents noticed his talent and love for drawing and decided to encourage him in that pursuit. When he was fourteen, he began auditing classes at the

Imperial Academy of Arts The Russian Academy of Arts, informally known as the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts, was an art academy in Saint Petersburg, founded in 1757 by the founder of the Imperial Moscow University Ivan Shuvalov under the name ''Academy of the T ...

in Saint Petersburg. His first drawings won praise from the sculptor,

Mark Antokolsky Mark Matveyevich Antokolsky (russian: Марк Матве́евич Антоко́льский; 2 November 18409 July 1902) was a Russian Imperial sculptor of Lithuanian Jewish descent. Biography Mordukh Matysovich Antokolsky''Boris Schatz: The ...

, and he became a regular student there in 1874. Although his primary instructor was Pavel Chistyakov, Antokolsky would continue to be his mentor throughout his education. True to his beliefs, he petitioned the Academy to allow him to work on Sunday, rather than on the Sabbath. He won several silver medals and was awarded two gold medals; for his depiction of

Abraham Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Je ...

banishing

Hagar Hagar, of uncertain origin; ar, هَاجَر, Hājar; grc, Ἁγάρ, Hagár; la, Agar is a biblical woman. According to the Book of Genesis, she was an Egyptian slave, a handmaiden of Sarah (then known as ''Sarai''), whom Sarah gave to h ...

and her son Ishmael (1878) and for "The Whore Before Christ" (1879). In 1880, he was awarded the title of "Artist, First Class" and received a stipend to travel abroad for four years. He visited Italy, Germany and Austria, where he worked with

Hans Makart Hans Makart (28 May 1840 – 3 October 1884) was a 19th-century Austrian academic history painter, designer, and decorator. Makart was a prolific painter whose ideas significantly influenced the development of visual art in Austria-Hungary, Ger ...

in Vienna. While in Italy, he studied the Old Masters and produced a large canvas of Moses in the desert, which earned him the title of "Academician" from the Imperial Academy. In 1885, he returned to Saint Petersburg and was married. He continued to focus on Jewish themes, primarily from the Old Testament and, in 1900, produced one of his best-known works: " Ecclesiastes". Despite some degree of financial difficulty, he never accepted commissions that ran counter to his beliefs. He usually did a great deal of research in libraries and museums to ensure that his works were historically accurate. For some reason, however, his works were not popular among the wealthy Russian Jews, who would have seemed to be his natural audience, and sold better abroad; especially in the United States.

Selected paintings

File:Исаак Аскназий Старик еврей.jpg, An Elderly Jew File:Brockhaus and Efron Jewish Encyclopedia e3 292-0.jpg, Ecclesiastes File:Исаак Аскназий Еврейская свадьба.jpg,

Jewish Wedding A Jewish wedding is a wedding ceremony that follows Jewish laws and traditions. While wedding ceremonies vary, common features of a Jewish wedding include a ''ketubah'' (marriage contract) which is signed by two witnesses, a ''chuppah'' or ''hu ...

with Klezmer Band File:Isaak Asknaziy 01.jpeg, The Whore Before Christ

References

External links

Biography and appreciation
@ Российская академия художеств {{DEFAULTSORT:Asknaziy, Isaak 1856 births 1902 deaths People from Verkhnyadzvinsk District People from Drissensky Uyezd Belarusian Jews 19th-century Jews from the Russian Empire 19th-century painters from the Russian Empire Russian male painters Jewish painters Biblical art Russian history painters Imperial Academy of Arts alumni Members of the Imperial Academy of Arts Awarded with a large gold medal of the Academy of Arts 19th-century male artists from the Russian Empire