Maurycy Gottlieb ; 21/28 February 1856 – 17 July 1879) was a Polish realist painter 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 hro ...

(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 Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

-speaking Orthodox Jewish family. He was one of eleven children born to Fanya ('' née'' 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 Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

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 Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

and stayed in Molde. He returned to

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 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 fa ...

and

Alexander von Wagner Alexander originally Sándor von Wagner (April 16, 1838 – January 19, 1919) was a Hungarian painter. Biography Wagner was born in Pesth. After graduating from the Real-Gymnasium in his hometown at the age of nineteen, he entered the Ac ...

. 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 Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

art competition for his painting, ''Shylock and Jessica'' (1876), portraying a scene from

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

'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 ...

''. 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 Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

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

collections unknown in the

Western Bloc The Western Bloc, also known as the Free Bloc, the Capitalist Bloc, the American Bloc, and the NATO Bloc, was a coalition of countries that were officially allied with the United States during the Cold War of 1947–1991. It was spearheaded by ...

were popularized, and his reputation grew greatly. His brother,

Leopold Gottlieb Leopold Gottlieb (1879, Drohobycz, Partitioned Poland – Paris, 1934) was a History of the Jews in Poland, Polish-Jewish modernist Painting, painter. His brother Maurycy Gottlieb, also a painter, died before Leopold was born. Career Leopold Go ...

, 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 aroun ...

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 Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

)

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