Rudolf Levy (15 July 1875, in

Stettin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin language, Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Po ...

– January 1944, in Italy or

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 ...

) was a German

expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

painter of Jewish ancestry.

Life

He came from an

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

family. While he was still a boy, they moved to Danzig, where he grew up. After completing his primary education, he was apprenticed to a carpenter. His parents were strongly opposed to his desires to become an artist but, in 1895, he enrolled at the

Academy of Fine Arts, Karlsruhe The State Academy of Fine Arts Karlsruhe () is an art school located in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. History The Academy was founded in 1854 by Frederick I, Grand Duke of Baden, with the landscape painter Johann Wilhelm Schirmer as ...

. In 1897, he and his friend,

Hans Purrmann Hans Marsilius Purrmann (April 10, 1880 – April 17, 1966) was a German artist. He was born in Speyer where he also grew up. He completed an apprenticeship as a scene painter and interior decorator, and subsequently studied in Karlsruhe and ...

, went to Munich to open a studio. While there, he continued his studies at the

Academy of Fine Arts, Munich The Academy of Fine Arts, Munich (german: Akademie der Bildenden Künste München, also known as Munich Academy) is one of the oldest and most significant art academies in Germany. It is located in the Maxvorstadt district of Munich, in Bavaria, ...

with

Nikolaus Gysis Nikolaos Gyzis ( el, Νικόλαος Γύζης ; german: Nikolaus Gysis; 1 March 1842 – 4 January 1901) was considered one of Greece's most important 19th century painters. He was most famous for his work '' Eros and the Painter'', his first ...

then, in 1899, took lessons at the private art school operated by

Heinrich Knirr Heinrich Knirr (2 September 1862 – 26 May 1944) was an Austrian-born German painter, known for genre scenes and portraits, although he also did landscapes and still-lifes. He is best-known for creating the official portrait of Adolf Hitler for ...

and studied

plein aire ''En plein air'' (; French for 'outdoors'), or ''plein air'' painting, is the act of painting outdoors. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein air' painting ...

painting with

Heinrich von Zügel Heinrich Johann von Zügel (22 October 1850, Murrhardt – 30 January 1941, Munich) was a German painter who specialized in pictures of farm and domestic animals, often posed with a human in a dramatic or humorous situation. Life Beginning in 1 ...

. He also became a member of a cultural association known as "Sturmfackel" (a type of

poppy A poppy is a flowering plant in the subfamily Papaveroideae of the family Papaveraceae. Poppies are herbaceous plants, often grown for their colourful flowers. One species of poppy, ''Papaver somniferum'', is the source of the narcotic drug opi ...

), that met at the Café Stefanie. In the fall of 1903, he went to Paris and established a circle of German-speaking artists who met at

Le Dôme Café Le Dôme Café () or Café du Dôme is a restaurant in Montparnasse, Paris that first opened in . Based on the example established by La Closerie des Lilas (created in 1847) and followed by Café de la Rotonde (created in 1911), Le Select (creat ...

. Two years later, he participated in the third exhibition of the

Salon d'Automne The Salon d'Automne (; en, Autumn Salon), or Société du Salon d'automne, is an art exhibition held annually in Paris, France. Since 2011, it is held on the Champs-Élysées, between the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais, in mid-October. The ...

at the

Grand Palais The Grand Palais des Champs-Élysées ( en, Great Palace of the Elysian Fields), commonly known as the Grand Palais (English: Great Palace), is a historic site, exhibition hall and museum complex located at the Champs-Élysées in the 8th arro ...

. In 1907, he worked at the newly founded teaching studios of

Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known prima ...

. Between 1910 and 1913, he made regular trips to the south of France and Tunisia. During 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 volunteered and fought as a German soldier in

Artois Artois ( ; ; nl, Artesië; English adjective: ''Artesian'') is a region of northern France. Its territory covers an area of about 4,000 km2 and it has a population of about one million. Its principal cities are Arras (Dutch: ''Atrecht'') ...

and

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

. He was awarded the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia est ...

in 1915. After the war, he returned to Germany and married Eugenie Schindler (1894-1953), a photographer and actress who went by the name Genia Morelli. They eventually settled in Berlin and, in 1922, he had his first solo exhibition, arranged by

Alfred Flechtheim Alfred Flechtheim (1 April 1878 – 9 March 1937) was a German Jewish art dealer, art collector, journalist and publisher persecuted by the Nazis. Early years Flechtheim was born into a Jewish merchant family; his father, Emil Flechtheim, was a g ...

. From 1924 to 1926, he was back in Paris, serving as Flechtheim's agent. In 1928, he became a member of the

Berlin Secession The Berlin Secession was an art movement established in Germany on May 2, 1898. Formed in reaction to the Association of Berlin Artists, and the restrictions on contemporary art imposed by Kaiser Wilhelm II, 65 artists "seceded," demonstrating ag ...

and served on its board of directors. Five years later, due to the increasing persecution of Jews in Germany, he went to

Rapallo Rapallo ( , , ) is a municipality in the Metropolitan City of Genoa, located in the Liguria region of northern Italy. As of 2017 it had 29,778 inhabitants. It lies on the Ligurian Sea coast, on the Tigullio Gulf, between Portofino and Chiavar ...

, Italy, where he stayed with his friend and student, Bob Gesinus-Visser (1898-1978). In 1935, he went 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 ...

. After the outbreak of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

, he went to New York to stay with his friend, the actor

Erik Charell Erik Charell (April 8, 1894 – July 15, 1974), born as Erich Karl Löwenberg, was a German theatre and film director, dancer and actor. He is best known as the creator of musical revues and operettas, such as '' The White Horse Inn'' (''Im wei� ...

. He did not want to stay there, however, and went back to Europe; first to

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik (), historically known as Ragusa (; see notes on naming), is a city on the Adriatic Sea in the region of Dalmatia, in the southeastern semi-exclave of Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterran ...

, then

Ischia Ischia ( , , ) is a volcanic island in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It lies at the northern end of the Gulf of Naples, about from Naples. It is the largest of the Phlegrean Islands. Roughly trapezoidal in shape, it measures approximately east to west ...

, where he lived at the artists' colony. He supported himself with occasional painting sales and financial aid from his family, including his now ex-wife, Genia. In 1937, his works were placed on the list of

Degenerate Art Degenerate art (german: Entartete Kunst was a term adopted in the 1920s by the Nazi Party in Germany to describe modern art. During the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler, German modernist art, including many works of internationally renowned artists, ...

. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

began, his residence permit was cancelled and he had to leave Ischia. Charell worked hard to obtain a visa for him to return to the United States or seek refuge in South America, but to no avail. In 1940, he was able to find a place to stay with friends in Florence. After the German Army occupied Italy in 1943, he had to go underground.Zeittafel: Italien 1938 - 1945
In December of that year, he was lured into a trap by SS agents pretending they were art buyers. He was arrested by the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

, briefly imprisoned at Le Murate, then placed on a transport to Auschwitz. It is generally believed that he died while in transit, but may have survived until reaching there.

Selected paintings

Levy-Paris.jpg, Paris Levy-Vase.jpg, Still-life with Yellow Vase Levy-Ischia.jpg, Woman from Ischia Levy-Marseilles.jpg, The Port of Marseilles File:Rudolf Levy Bildnis Nanda Florenz 1941.jpg, Portrait of Nanda (Florence)

References

Heidelberg University Library The University Library Heidelberg (german: Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg) is the central library of the University of Heidelberg. It constitutes together with the 83 decentralized libraries of the faculties and institutes the University Lib ...

ArtNet: More works by Levy.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Levy, Rudolf German people who died in Auschwitz concentration camp Modern painters Jewish painters 1875 births 1944 deaths 19th-century German painters 19th-century German male artists German male painters 20th-century German painters 20th-century German male artists German civilians killed in World War II Artists from Szczecin People from the Province of Pomerania German Jews who died in the Holocaust German Army personnel of World War I

Life

Selected paintings

References

Further reading

External links