Albert Rubin (10 July 1887 – 31 May 1956) was a Bulgarian-born

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

painter, sculptor, graphic artist and illustrator. He was selected for the first class of Bezalel Art School, and later established his artistic career in Paris, where he lived and presented his work.

Biography

Albert (Avraham) Rubin was born in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. His father, Nissim Rubin, who mastered several languages, worked as an interpreter for tourists and diplomats. He had two brothers and three sisters. To help support the family, Rubin left school to become a carpenter’s apprentice. In his free time, he sculpted in wood. In 1903, urged by

Boris Schatz Boris Schatz ( he, בוריס שץ; 23 December 1866 – 23 March 1932) was a Lithuanian Jewish artist and sculptor who settled in Israel. Schatz, who became known as the "father of Israeli art," founded the Bezalel School in Jerusalem. After ...

, a family friend and the "father of Israeli art", he began studying painting and sculpture at the National Academy of Arts in Sofia. When

Theodor Herzl Theodor Herzl; hu, Herzl Tivadar; Hebrew name given at his brit milah: Binyamin Ze'ev (2 May 1860 – 3 July 1904) was an Austro-Hungarian Jewish lawyer, journalist, playwright, political activist, and writer who was the father of modern po ...

visited Sofia, Rubin was commissioned to paint his portrait. In 1905, the Seventh

Zionist Congress The Zionist Congress was established in 1897 by Theodor Herzl as the supreme organ of the Zionist Organization (ZO) and its legislative authority. In 1960 the names were changed to World Zionist Congress ( he, הקונגרס הציוני העו ...

in Basel reached a decision to establish an art school in Palestine. A group of thirty young artists from all over Europe were to be selected to form the first class. Rubin, then 19 years old, applied and was immediately accepted. Rubin attended Bezalel for three years, 1906-1909, returned briefly to Bulgaria, and then moved to Paris, where he studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts until 1917. Meanwhile his mother died, and the family joined him in Paris. His father, who worked as night watchman, died in a work accident in January 1914, leaving Rubin to care for his five siblings. During World War I, he served in the French army, teaching art to Belgian and French soldiers. In 1931, he was accidentally blinded in one eye but continued to paint.Information Center for Israeli Art
Israel Museum In 1933, he married and had two children, a daughter, Sylvia, and a son, Claude. During World War II, when the Nazis invaded France, he was forced to go into hiding for long periods of time. After the war, Rubin helped found the Association of Jewish Artists and Sculptors in France. in May 1956, when he was 68, Rubin was hit by a car in Paris and died of his injuries. He was buried in Cimetiere parisien de Bagneux in a family plot beside his father. His daughter Sylvia Chetrit

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

to Israel in 1969.

Art career

In early 1906, Rubin and his family arrived to Jerusalem. He began his studies in Bezalel Art School on 1 March 1906. He was placed in an advanced class. Among_his_teachers_were_Ephraim_Moses_Lilien_and_Samuel_Hirszenberg.html" ;"title="Ephraim_Moses_Lilien.html" ;"title="Among his teachers were Ephraim Moses Lilien">Among his teachers were Ephraim Moses Lilien and Samuel Hirszenberg">Ephraim_Moses_Lilien.html" ;"title="Among his teachers were Ephraim Moses Lilien">Among his teachers were Ephraim Moses Lilien and Samuel Hirszenberg. He painted and sculpted the landscapes of the land of Israel, especially the ones of Jerusalem. Several of his sculptures remained at Bezalel, among them two busts of children for which he used his younger brothers as models. In the fall of 1909, he left for Paris to continue his art education. To make ends meet he sold all the paintings he had brought with him and began to work as a street artist, creating sidewalk drawings in chalk. He was accepted at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris and received a scholarship, thanks to the intervention of

Baron Rothschild Baron Rothschild, of Tring in the County of Hertfordshire, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1885 for Sir Nathan Rothschild, 2nd Baronet, a member of the Rothschild banking family. He was the first Jewish mem ...

. One of his first teachers was

Fernand Cormon Fernand Cormon (24 December 1845 – 20 March 1924) was a French painter born in Paris. He became a pupil of Alexandre Cabanel, Eugène Fromentin, and Jean-François Portaels, and one of the leading historical painters of modern France. Biogra ...

. He was a candidate for the

Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

, but turned out to be ineligible because he was not a French citizen. He was invited to join the staff of ''Athenee de France'', a respected art magazine, after exhibiting his dual portrait of Sheikh Abu-Nadra (pen name of

Yaqub Sanu Yaqub ibn Ishaq ibn Ibrahim (Arabic: يَعْقُوب ابْنُ إِسْحَٰق ابْنُ إِبْرَاهِيم, literally: "''Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham''" ar, يَعْقُوب , translit=Yaqub; also later ''Israil'', Arabic: إ ...

, an Egyptian Jewish playwright and journalist). After serving in the French army in World War I, he received French citizenship. He was accepted to the Societe des Artistes Francais in 1914. From then on, he exhibited his work at its annual exhibition,

Salon des Artistes Francais The Salon (french: Salon), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art ...

, and was lauded in the newspapers for his pastels and oils. Later, he became a sought-after portrait painter, noted for his unique style.

Gallery

Albert Rubin - Job.jpg, Job,
oil on canvas,
45X81,
purchased by the Tel Aviv Museum Albert Rubin - Nude model.jpg, Nude model,
oil on canvas,
32X21 Albert Rubin - Peace of Mankind.jpg, Peace of Mankind, 1940,
oil on wood,
46.5X30 Albert Rubin - The Indian dancer.jpg, The Indian dancer,
watercolor on cardboard,
43X26 Albert Rubin - Portrait of a redheaded woman in profile.jpg, Portrait of a redheaded woman in profile, 1935,
Pastel on cardboard,
39.5X30 Albert Rubin - Portrait of an older man.jpg, Portrait of an older man,
oil on canvas,
35X27 Albert Rubin - Portrait of Mr. R from Madagascar.jpg, Portrait of Mr. R from Madagascar, 1951,
watercolor on cardboard,
56.5X47 Albert Rubin - The woman with the pendant.jpg, The woman with the pendant,
Crayons on paper,
13.5X8.5 Albert Rubin - Al-Aqsa Mosque.jpg, Al-Aqsa Mosque, 1906,
oil on wood,
61X46 Albert Rubin - French village.jpg, French village, 1936,
oil on cardboard,
24X19 Albert Rubin - Port in Nice France.jpg, Port in Nice France, 1930,
oil on cardboard,
76X56 Albert Rubin - The Blue Lake in Switzerland.jpg, The Blue Lake in Switzerland, 1936,
oil on cardboard,
61.5X50.5

Awards and recognition

In 1933 and 1950, Rubin was awarded prizes at the Salon des Artistes Francais, an annual exhibition of French artists in Paris. A retrospective of his work was held at the Mishkan Museum of Art at Kibbutz

Ein Harod Ein Harod ( he, עֵין חֲרוֹד) was a kibbutz in northern Israel near Mount Gilboa. Founded in 1921, it became the center of Mandatory Palestine's kibbutz movement, hosting the headquarters of the largest kibbutz organisation, HaKibbutz HaM ...

in June–August 2010.Mishkan Museum of Art, Ein Harod, “Beginnings”
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Biography

Art career

Gallery

Awards and recognition

See also

References

Further reading