Ludwig Blum (24 July 1891 – 28 July 1974) was a
Moravian-born
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
i painter. He emigrated to Israel in 1923, as part of the
Third Aliyah
The Third Aliyah ( he, העלייה השלישית, ''HaAliyah HaShlishit'') refers to the third wave—or aliyah—of modern Jewish immigration to Palestine from Europe. This wave lasted from 1919, just after the end of World War I, until 19 ...
, and became known as "the painter of
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
".
Early life
Memorial plaque in -Líšeň">Brno-Líšeň_.html" ;"title="Líšeň.html" ;"title="Brno-Líšeň">Brno-Líšeň ">Líšeň.html" ;"title="Brno-Líšeň">Brno-Líšeň
Ludwig Blum was born in 1891 in Líšeň (now part of Brno), Margraviate of Moravia.
He emigrated to Mandatory Palestine in 1923, as part of the
Third Aliyah
The Third Aliyah ( he, העלייה השלישית, ''HaAliyah HaShlishit'') refers to the third wave—or aliyah—of modern Jewish immigration to Palestine from Europe. This wave lasted from 1919, just after the end of World War I, until 19 ...
.
He served in the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
He was privately educated in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
and later attended the
Academy of Fine Arts
The following is a list of notable art schools.
Accredited non-profit art and design colleges
* Adelaide Central School of Art
* Alberta College of Art and Design
* Art Academy of Cincinnati
* Art Center College of Design
* The Art Institute ...
in
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...
.
Career
![Ludwig Blum - Rachel's Tomb, 1931](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/Ludwig_Blum_-_Rachel%27s_Tomb%2C_1931.JPG)
Upon his arrival in Mandatory Palestine, and as a dedicated
Zionist
Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...
, Blum started paintings scenes of everyday life and landscapes in Israel.
He did many paintings of Jerusalem (including the
Western Wall
The Western Wall ( he, הַכּוֹתֶל הַמַּעֲרָבִי, HaKotel HaMa'aravi, the western wall, often shortened to the Kotel or Kosel), known in the West as the Wailing Wall, and in Islam as the Buraq Wall (Arabic: حَائِط ...
and the
Mount of Olives
The Mount of Olives or Mount Olivet ( he, הַר הַזֵּיתִים, Har ha-Zeitim; ar, جبل الزيتون, Jabal az-Zaytūn; both lit. 'Mount of Olives'; in Arabic also , , 'the Mountain') is a mountain ridge east of and adjacent to Jeru ...
),
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the ...
, the
Sea of Galilee and the
Judaean Mountains
The Judaean Mountains, or Judaean Hills ( he, הרי יהודה, translit=Harei Yehuda) or the Hebron Mountains ( ar, تلال الخليل, translit=Tilal al-Khalīl, links=, lit=Hebron Mountains), is a mountain range in Palestine and Israel wh ...
.
Additionally, he painted some kibbutzes:
Kiryat Anavim
Kiryat Anavim ( he, קִרְיַת עֲנָבִים, ''lit.'' City of Grapes) is a kibbutz in the Judean Hills of Israel. It was the first kibbutz established in the Judean Hills. It is located west of Jerusalem, and falls under the jurisdiction o ...
and
Degania Alef, and the lives of Israeli soldiers, including the
Palmach.
He also painted copper mines in the
Timna Valley
The Timna Valley (תִּמְנָע, ) is located in southern Israel in the southwestern Arava/Arabah, approximately north of the Gulf of Aqaba and the city of Eilat. The area is rich in copper ore and has been mined since the 5th millennium ...
.
He also painted the
Arch of Constantine
The Arch of Constantine ( it, Arco di Costantino) is a triumphal arch in Rome dedicated to the emperor Constantine the Great. The arch was commissioned by the Roman Senate to commemorate Constantine's victory over Maxentius at the Battle of Milv ...
in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, and a vase of roses.
Blum became known as "the painter of Jerusalem".
In 1933, his painting entitled simply ''Jerusalem'' was honoured at the
Royal Academy of Arts in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
.
In 1967, he received the
Yakir Yerushalayim Yakir Yerushalayim ( he, יַקִּיר יְרוּשָׁלַיִם; en, Worthy Citizen of Jerusalem) is an annual citizenship prize in Jerusalem, inaugurated in 1967.
The prize is awarded annually by the municipality of the City of Jerusalem to o ...
from the City of Jerusalem.
In 2011 the
Museum of Biblical Art in Manhattan held an exhibition of Blum's paintings.
Death
Blum died in 1975 in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
.
Selected paintings
*''Jerusalem in the Snow'' (1927).
*''Jerusalem, Temple Mount'' (1928).
*''Vase of Rose'' (1931).
*''Kibbutz Kiryat Anavim'' (1932).
*''Kibbutz Degania'' (1934).
*''The Judea mountains'' (1943).
*''The Arch of Constantine'' (1944).
*''Jerusalem, seen from Mount Scopus'' (1950).
*''The Market in Jerusalem'' (1950).
*''View of Jerusalem from the Hill of Evil Counsel'' (1951).
*''Landscape'' (1956).
*''Timna, Copper Mines'' (1957).
*''View of Jerusalem'' (1962).
*''Jerusalem, David's Tower and the Sultan's Pool, seen from Mishkanot Shaananim'' (1964).
*''The Western Wall''.
*''The walled city of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives''.
*''Sea of Galilee''.
*''Portrait with a keffiyeh''.
See also
*
List of Orientalist artists
This is an incomplete list of artists who have produced works on Orientalist subjects, drawn from the Islamic world or other parts of Asia. Many artists listed on this page worked in many genres, and Orientalist subjects may not have formed a m ...
*
Orientalism
Further reading
*''The Real and the Ideal: The Painting of Ludwig Blum'' (Tel Aviv:
Museum of the Jewish People, 2009).
*''The Land of Light and Promise, 50 Years Painting Jerusalem and Beyond: Ludwig Blum 1891-1974''
Ben Uri Gallery and Museum 2011).
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blum, Ludwig
1891 births
1974 deaths
Artists from Brno
People from the Margraviate of Moravia
Moravian Jews
Czechoslovak emigrants to Mandatory Palestine
20th-century Israeli painters
Orientalist painters
Israeli landscape painters
Painters of the Holy Land pre-1948
Zionists
Academy of Fine Arts, Prague alumni
Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I
Jewish painters
Burials at Har HaMenuchot
Academy of Fine Arts Vienna alumni