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

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

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, a family friend and the "father of Israeli art", he began studying painting and sculpture at the

National Academy of Arts The National Academy of Arts () is an institution of higher education in Sofia, Bulgaria. It is the oldest and most renowned school of arts in the country. History The National Academy of Arts was founded in 1896 by noted artists and public f ...

in Sofia. When

Theodor Herzl Theodor Herzl (2 May 1860 – 3 July 1904) was an Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian Jewish journalist and lawyer who was the father of Types of Zionism, modern political Zionism. Herzl formed the World Zionist Organization, Zionist Organizat ...

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 ( ''HaKongres HaTsioni HaOlami'') and Wor ...

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 The Israel Museum (, ''Muze'on Yisrael'', ) is an Art museum, art and archaeology museum in Jerusalem. It was established in 1965 as Israel's largest and foremost cultural institution, and one of the world's leading Encyclopedic museum, encyclopa ...

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 usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

to Israel in 1969.

Art career

In early 1906, Rubin and his family arrived to

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. 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">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

. 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">École des Beaux-Arts">Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris and received a scholarship, thanks to the intervention of Baron Rothschild. One of his first teachers was Fernand Cormon. He was a candidate for the Prix de Rome, 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 Sanu (, , anglicized as James Sanua), also known by his pen name "Abu Naddara" ( ''Abū Naẓẓārah'' "the man with glasses"; January 9, 1839 – 1912), was an Egyptian scriptwriter writing in Egyptian Arabic. He was a pioneer of political ...

, an Egyptian Jewish playwright and journalist). After serving in the French army in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, 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 (), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art event in the Western world. At the ...

, 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 A kibbutz ( / , ; : kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1910, was Degania Alef, Degania. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economi ...

Ein Harod Ein Harod () was a kibbutz in northern Israel near Mount Gilboa. Founded in 1921, it became the center of Mandatory Israel's kibbutz movement, hosting the headquarters of the largest kibbutz organisation, HaKibbutz HaMeuhad. In 1923 part of the ...

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