Maurycy Gottlieb ; 21/28 February 1856 – 17 July 1879)
was a Polish realist
painter
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...
of the
Romantic period
Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...
.
Considered one of the most talented students of
Jan Matejko, Gottllieb died at the age of 23.
Career
Gottlieb was born in
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 ...
(then in Galicia in
Austrian Poland
The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria,, ; pl, Królestwo Galicji i Lodomerii, ; uk, Королівство Галичини та Володимирії, Korolivstvo Halychyny ta Volodymyrii; la, Rēgnum Galiciae et Lodomeriae also known as ...
, now in western Ukraine) to a wealthy,
Yiddish
Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ve ...
and
Polish-speaking Orthodox Jewish family. He was one of eleven children born to Fanya (''
née
A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
'' Tigerman) and Isaac Gottlieb. He was introduced to painting in
Lemberg by Michał Godlewski. At fifteen, he enrolled at the
Vienna Fine Arts Academy for three years. In 1873 he went to
Kraków to study under
Jan Matejko and became close friends with
Jacek Malczewski. However, an anti-Semitic incident at
the School of Fine Arts prompted him to leave Kraków after less than a year in spite of Malczewski's protests.
He traveled to
Norway and stayed in
Molde
Molde () is a town and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Peninsula, surrounding the Fannefjord and Moldefjord.
The administrative centre of the ...
. He returned to
Vienna and from there travelled to Munich in 1875 to study under
Karl von Piloty
Karl Theodor von Piloty (1 October 1826 – 21 July 1886) was a German painter, noted for his historical subjects, and recognised as the foremost representative of the realistic school in Germany.
Life and work
Piloty was born in Munich. His fat ...
and
Alexander von Wagner
Alexander originally Sándor von Wagner (April 16, 1838 – January 19, 1919) was a Kingdom of Hungary, Hungarian painter.
Biography
Wagner was born in Pesth. After graduating from the Gymnasium (school), Real-Gymnasium in his hometown at t ...
.
In 1876 he won the Gold Medal at the Munich Academy for his painting, ''Shylock and Jessica.'' In the same year, he moved back to Vienna to attend the workshop of Heinrich von Angeli. He lived and worked in Vienna for the next two years and produced paintings with biblical themes, as well as illustrations for Friedrich Bruckmann Publishing of Munich.
In the fall of 1878, Gottlieb travelled to Rome, where he befriended
Henryk Siemiradzki
Henryk Hektor Siemiradzki (24 October 1843 – 23 August 1902) was a Russian-born Polish painter based in Rome, best remembered for his monumental academic art. He was particularly known for his depictions of scenes from the ancient Greek-Roman w ...
. At a banquet in his residence at Via Gaeta, Gottlieb met with Matejko, who convinced him to come back to Kraków as one of his best students,
to work on a series of monumental paintings including scenes from the
history of the Jews in Poland.
In 1879 Gottlieb settled in Kraków and began working on his new major project.
He died in the same year from health complications. Matejko attended his funeral and promised his father to look after his younger brother Marcin.
Gottlieb won a gold medal at the
Munich art competition for his painting, ''Shylock and Jessica'' (1876), portraying a scene from
Shakespeare's ''
The Merchant of Venice
''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock.
Although classified as a ...
''. The painting was exhibited in Lviv in 1877, and in 1878 at ''Zachęta'' in Warsaw and widely acclaimed. Gottlieb based Jessica's face on that of
Laura Rosenfeld, to whom he had proposed marriage. However, Laura rejected his proposal and wed a
Berlin banker. Gottlieb planned to marry Lola Rosengarten, but when he heard about Rosenfeld's marriage, he knowingly exposed himself to the elements, dying of complications from a cold and sore throat.
[Erik Weems]
Biography of Maurycy Gottlieb
at ''Eeweems.com'', Richmond VA. Retrieved 19 November 2012
Despite his premature death at the age of 23, more than three hundred of his works survive (mostly sketches, but also oil paintings),
though not all are finished.
After
the fall of the Iron Curtain, many
Polish collections unknown in the
Western Bloc were popularized, and his reputation grew greatly. His brother,
Leopold Gottlieb, was born five years after his death and became known as a painter as an adult.
Gallery
File:Gottlieb Recha welcoming her father.jpg, ''Recha welcoming her father'', 1867–1877, National Museum of Warsaw
File:Shylock e jessica.jpeg, '' Shylock and Jessica'', 1876
File:Maurycy Gottlieb - Jews Praying in the Synagogue on Yom Kippur.jpg, ''Jews Praying in the Synagogue on Yom Kippur
''Jews Praying in the Synagogue on Yom Kippur'' was painted by Polish-Jewish artist Maurycy Gottlieb in 1878. It depicts Jews in the midst of the Yom Kippur service, on one of the holiest days of the Jewish calendar.
Yom Kippur is the Jewish holi ...
'', 1878, Tel Aviv Museum of Art
Tel Aviv Museum of Art ( he, מוזיאון תל אביב לאמנות ''Muzeon Tel Aviv Leomanut'') is an art museum in Tel Aviv, Israel. The museum is dedicated to the preservation and display of modern and contemporary art from Israel and aro ...
File:Maurycy Gottlieb, Chrystus nauczający w Kafarnaum.jpg, ''Christ Preaching at Capernaum
Capernaum ( ; he, כְּפַר נַחוּם, Kfar Naḥum, Nahum's village; ar, كفر ناحوم, Kafr Nāḥūm) was a fishing village established during the time of the Hasmoneans, located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. It ...
'', 1879 ( Warsaw)
Notes
References
*
*Nehama Guralnik: ''In the Flower of Youth: Maurycy Gottlieb''. Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Dvir Publishers, 1991.
*Jerzy Malinowski: ''Maurycy Gottlieb''. Arkady, Warsaw (1997),
*Ezra Mendelsohn: ''Painting a people: Maurycy Gottlieb and Jewish Art''. Brandeis University Press, Hanover, New Hampshire; (2002)
External links
''Jews Praying in the Synagogue on Yom Kippur'' in
Poem for Rent project.
* ''Głowa starca'' – oil painting by Gottlieb i
Central Jewish Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gottlieb, Maurycy
19th-century Polish painters
19th-century Polish male artists
Jews from Galicia (Eastern Europe)
Polish painters of Jewish descent
Jewish painters
Artists from Kraków
1856 births
1879 deaths
Academy of Fine Arts Vienna alumni
People from Drohobych
Polish male painters