Leopold Gottlieb (1879,

Drohobycz Drohobych ( uk, Дрого́бич, ; pl, Drohobycz; yi, דראָהאָביטש;) is a city of regional significance in Lviv Oblast, Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Drohobych Raion and hosts the administration of Drohobych urban hro ...

, Partitioned Poland –

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, 1934) was a

Polish-Jewish The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Ashkenazi Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the lon ...

modernist painter. His brother

Maurycy Gottlieb Maurycy Gottlieb ; 21/28 February 1856 – 17 July 1879) was a Polish realist painter of the Romantic period. Considered one of the most talented students of Jan Matejko, Gottllieb died at the age of 23. Career Gottlieb was born in Drohobycz ...

, also a painter, died before Leopold was born.

Career

Leopold Gottlieb began his formal art education at the

Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków The Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków ( pl, Akademia Sztuk Pięknych im. Jana Matejki w Krakowie, usually abbreviated to ''ASP''), is a public institution of higher education located in the centre of Kraków, Poland. It is the oldest Pol ...

under the direction of Jacek Malczewski. After graduating the academy, he moved to

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

to continue his studies in the studio of Anton Ažbe. In 1904, at the age of 21 he settled in Paris and became a member of the Circle of Montparnasse artists. During the years 1904-1907, he exhibited his works in group exhibitions with four other fellow artists in

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

Lvov Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukrain ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, and

Warszawa Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

. In 1910, he moved to

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

to teach in the Bezalel School of Art. Following his return to Paris In the years 1917-1919, he took part in exhibition of Polish Expressionists (Formists) and became friends with another Polish artist, Moses Kisling, Eugene Zak and Mela Muter. His artistic talent was acknowledged by the esteemed critics of that time, André Salmon and Adolf Basler, and his works were displayed in the Salon of Autumn, Independents, Société Nationale des Beaux Artes, and the Tuileries. He participated in exhibitions in the

Vienna Secession The Vienna Secession (german: Wiener Secession; also known as ''the Union of Austrian Artists'', or ''Vereinigung Bildender Künstler Österreichs'') is an art movement, closely related to Art Nouveau, that was formed in 1897 by a group of Austr ...

. He also participated in the exhibition of Polish art, organized in 1912, at

Galeries Dalmau Galeries Dalmau was an art gallery in Barcelona, Spain, from 1906 to 1930 (also known as Sala Dalmau, Les Galeries Dalmau, Galería Dalmau, and Galeries J. Dalmau). The gallery was founded and managed by the Symbolist painter and restorer . Th ...

in Barcelona.

First World War

During the First World War he joined the Polish Legions. During his service in the Legions, he used to draw and document scenes depicting everyday life in the formation and the life of his fellow soldier commanders. His drawings and lithographs were presented in the "Exhibition of Polish Legions," which took place in Lublin in 1917. After the war, he settled in Poland, moved to Vienna, and then to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. In 1926, he returned to Paris where he exhibited at the Galerie aux Quatre Chemins (1927), d'Art de Montparnasse (1928), Bonaparte (1930), and Zak (1934). In 1929 and 1930, he joined the exhibition of the Association of Polish Artists.

Artistic style

Gottlieb's paintings often depict biblical themes with range of brown, green, and pink pearl tones that intensify with linear rhythm. This rhythm makes the images gain characteristics of ritual ceremony or music. The content of his painting display a rich language of icons and symbols which are drawn from Christian iconography. Gottlieb also painted many

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this r ...

s of famous people, including

Diego Rivera Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez, known as Diego Rivera (; December 8, 1886 – November 24, 1957), was a prominent Mexican painter. His large frescoes helped establish the ...

and

Helena Rubinstein Helena Rubinstein (born Chaja Rubinstein; December 25, 1870 – April 1, 1965) was a Polish and American businesswoman, art collector, and philanthropist. A cosmetics entrepreneur, she was the founder and eponym of Helena Rubinstein Incorporat ...

References

Irena Kossowska, Instytut Sztuki Polskiej Akademii Nauk grudzień 2001

External links

* a portrait by Gottlieb i
Central Jewish Library

An artwork by Leopold Gottlieb
at th
Ben Uri
site {{DEFAULTSORT:Gottlieb, Leopold 19th-century Polish painters 19th-century Polish male artists 20th-century Polish painters 20th-century Polish male artists 1879 births 1934 deaths Polish painters of Jewish descent Jewish painters Polish male painters Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to France