Samuel Leser Schwarz, known as Mommie (28 July 1876 – 19 November 1942) was a Dutch Jewish painter and graphic artist. He also worked as a designer of book covers. In 1920, he married

Else Berg Else Berg (19 February 1877, Ratibor – 19 November 1942, Auschwitz) was a German-born Dutch painter of Jewish descent; associated with the Bergense School. She was married to the Dutch painter, Mommie Schwarz. She and her husband were both mu ...

. Together they became an artistic couple and were part of the Bergen School of painters. Schwarz and Berg were both murdered at

Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

in 1942.

Life

Schwarz was the tenth child of Leser Schwarz and Julie Winter. The family had eleven children. In 1897 he went with his brother Julius to New York City. In 1902 Mommie Schwarz returns to Europa and registered at the Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp for the evening class of 1902–1903. On 26 March 1903 he unsubscribed at the academy and returned to New York where he arrived on 11 August 1903. In 1908 or 1909 Mommie left New York for Europe. Shortly afterwards he traveled to Berlin to visit his nephew Erich and his niece Else Berg. Subsequently, Else and Mommie traveled to Paris. In 1909 or 1910 he settled with Berg in the Netherlands. In 1915 they moved to the town of Schoorl, where they established close ties with Leo Gestel and other artists from the Bergen School. The couple married in 1920 and moved to Amsterdam. From 1927 they lived adjacent to Amsterdam's

Sarphatipark The Sarphatipark is a public urban park located in the '' stadsdeel'' Amsterdam Oud-Zuid in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The park is named after Samuel Sarphati Samuel Sarphati (31 January 1813 – 23 June 1866) was a Dutch physician and Amsterdam ...

. By this time, Schwarz had cut all ties with Judaism. The couple traveled extensively, including trips to

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...

, the former Yugoslavia, Turkey and Spain. After the

German occupation German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...

of the Netherlands in World War II, they refused to go into hiding or to wear the

Star of David The Star of David (). is a generally recognized symbol of both Jewish identity and Judaism. Its shape is that of a hexagram: the compound of two equilateral triangles. A derivation of the ''seal of Solomon'', which was used for decorative ...

. On 12 November 1942, they were arrested by the Germans and deported via the Westerbork transit camp to Auschwitz, where they were murdered immediately upon arrival on 19 November 1942.

Work

Mommie Schwarz - Gezicht op het Sarphatipark

Schwarz belonged to the Bergen School of painters and was influenced by such painters as Leo Gestel and

Charley Toorop Charley Toorop (24 March 1891 – 5 November 1955) was a Dutch painter and lithographer. Her full name was Annie Caroline Pontifex Fernhout-Toorop. Life Charley Toorop was born in Katwijk. She was the daughter of Jan Toorop and Annie Hall. ...

. The works of the Bergen School are characterized by Cubist figuration and expressionist influences in dark shades, which also applies to much of Schwarz's work. Schwarz is especially known for his harbor scenes, landscapes, portraits and still lifes. He also worked as an illustrator and designed book covers and posters, including illustrations for the Dutch art magazine '' Wendingen.''

Public collections

* Jewish Historical Museum in Amsterdam *

Museum Kranenburgh A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

Bergen (North Holland) Bergen () is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Its North Sea beaches and forests make it a popular destination for tourists. In 2001, the municipality was formed from a merger of the former municipaliti ...

* The

Wieger Museum Wieger may refer to: * Wieger Mensonides (born 1938), Dutch swimmer * David Michael Wieger, a screenwriter of ''Wild America'' * Léon Wieger (1856–1933), French Jesuit missionary in China * Wieger rifle series, a series of German firearms base ...

Deurne, North Brabant Deurne () is a rural municipality and eponymous village in the province of North Brabant in the Netherlands. Including the villages of Liessel, Vlierden, Neerkant, and Helenaveen, Deurne had a population of in and covers an area of . History ...

References

External links

ArtNet: More works by Schwarz.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schwarz, Mommie 1876 births 1942 deaths Dutch Jews who died in the Holocaust Dutch male painters People from Zutphen Dutch people who died in Auschwitz concentration camp Jewish painters