Leo Blumenreich, real name Leonard Lewy (18 September 1884 – 12 May 1932) was a German art dealer, collector and patron.

Life

Born in Berlin, Blumenreich was born the fourth son (of six children) of Paul Philipp Blumenreich (1849–1907) and his wife Adele (''née'' Fränkel, 1850–1885). His father was a writer, journalist and bookseller, as well as co-founder and director of the

Theater des Westens The Theater des Westens (Theatre of the West) is one of the most famous theatres for musicals and operettas in Berlin, Germany, located at 10–12 in Charlottenburg. It was founded in 1895 for plays. The present house was opened in 1896 and dedi ...

in Berlin, built in 1896. After the early death of his mother, his father married Gertrud Lewissohn in his second marriage and in his third marriage in 1891 the Austrian writer Franziska von Kapff-Essenther. Leo's eldest brother Arnold (1875–1943) was also a book and art dealer, first in Breslau, later in Berlin. Another older brother Walter (1880–?) ran a bookshop there. After graduating from the in Berlin on 18 March 1898, the 15-year-old Leo went with his father, brother and sister to New York, where Paul Blumenreich was director of the German Theatre there for three years. In June 1902 Leo returned from America and moved to Vienna, where he trained for four years in the antiquarian book trade. He then went to a large antiquarian bookshop in Paris for a year's internship. In 1907 he began studying art history at the Friedrich Wilhelms University in Berlin and was a student of Heinrich Wölfflin and

Max J. Friedländer Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (English Springer Spaniel), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of OBE) * Max (gorilla) (1 ...

, with whom he had a lifelong friendship. On Friedländer's 60th birthday in 1927, Blumenreich published an index of his writings. In 1909 Blumenreich's translation of the

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...

book by

Jozef Israëls Jozef Israëls (27 January 1824 – 12 August 1911) was a Dutch painter. He was a leading member of the group of landscape painters referred to as the Hague School and, during his lifetime, "the most respected Dutch artist of the second half of ...

appeared. In 1910, he moved to London, where he ran an antiquarian bookshop at 47 Duke's Street, St James's, with the Swiss Martin Hofer (1889–?) from 1911 to 1914, specialising in Dutch and Italian

primitivism Primitivism is a mode of aesthetic idealization that either emulates or aspires to recreate a "primitive" experience. It is also defined as a philosophical doctrine that considers "primitive" peoples as nobler than civilized peoples and was an o ...

, as well as drawings and decorative arts. In London, he married Emmy Simon-Bermann (1871–1923) in October 1913. In 1915, he moved to Berlin, where he was co-owner and director of the

Paul Cassirer Paul Cassirer (21 February 1871, in Görlitz – 7 January 1926, in Berlin) was a German art dealer and editor who played a significant role in the promotion of the work of artists of the Berlin Secession and of French Impressionists and Post-Im ...

Gallery from 1916 to 1923. There he took over the department of old art and developed and organised exhibitions of artists such as Max Beckmann, Oskar Kokoschka, Ernst Barlach, Martin Bloch and

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. Twice he travelled to Oslo with the art historian Curt Glaser and visited Munch's studio. In 1923, Blumenreich acquired a plot of land in Berlin-Grunewald Wildpfad 28 and commissioned the architect Fritz Ruhemann to build a villa. On 24 April 1924, he married Hannah Cassirer, ''née'' Sotschek (1887–1974), the ex-wife of

Alfred Cassirer Alfred Cassirer (29 July 1875 – 11 July 1932) was a German engineer, entrepreneur and art collector. Life Born in Görlitz, Cassirer came from the entrepreneurial Cassirer family and was the youngest son of Louis Cassirer and a brother of ...

and mother of his stepdaughter

Eva Cassirer Eva Cassirer (Berlin, 28 January 1920 – Calvià ajorca, Spain 19 September 2009) was a German philosopher, astronomer and art collector. She was an honorary professor at Technische Universität Berlin. She was awarded the honorary title '' Rig ...

(1920–2009). In his house he decorated the walls with works from his collection of drawings, among others by masters such as Tiepolo,

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. Leo Blumenreich donated many works of art to Berlin, which are now in the Kunstgewerbemuseum there, in the Bode-Museum and in the

Kupferstichkabinett Berlin The Kupferstichkabinett, or Museum of Prints and Drawings, is a prints museum in Berlin, Germany. It is part of the Berlin State Museums, and is located in the Kulturforum on Potsdamer Platz. It is the largest museum of graphic art in Germany, ...

. In 1924, Blumenreich went into business for himself and opened his gallery at Schöneberger Ufer 37, specialising in Dutch art and Old Master drawings and prints. In April 1928, he moved to Viktoriastraße (Berlin).Nebehay, M. Ch., Die goldenen Sessel meines Vaters, Vienna 1983, .

Publications

* as translator: Jozef Israëls: ''Rembrandt''. Harmonie, Verlagsgesellschaft für Literatur und Kunst, Berlin 1909. * ''Verzeichnis der Schriften Max J. Friedländers''. de Gruyter, Berlin 1927.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blumenreich, Leo German art dealers 1884 births 1932 deaths People from Berlin