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Isaak L'vovich Asknaziy (; 16 January 1856, in Drissa – 1902, in
Asknaziy was born to a family of wealthy
@ Русская живопись (Russian painting). His early education was entirely religious, but when his parents noticed his talent and love for drawing, they decided to encourage him in that pursuit. When he was fourteen, he began attending classes at the
File:Исаак Аскназий Старик еврей.jpg, An Elderly Jew
File:Brockhaus and Efron Jewish Encyclopedia e3 292-0.jpg, Ecclesiastes
File:Исаак Аскназий Еврейская свадьба.jpg,
Biography and appreciation
@ Российская академия художеств {{DEFAULTSORT:Asknaziy, Isaak 1856 births 1902 deaths People from Verkhnyadzvinsk district People from Drissensky Uyezd Belarusian Jews 19th-century Jews from the Russian Empire 19th-century painters from the Russian Empire Russian male painters Jewish painters Biblical art Russian history painters 19th-century male artists from the Russian Empire
Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
) was a Jewish-Russian painter
Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...
in the Academic
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...
style, known primarily for his historical and Biblical scenes.
Biography
Asknaziy was born to a family of wealthy Hasidic
Hasidism () or Hasidic Judaism is a religious movement within Judaism that arose in the 18th century as a spiritual revival movement in contemporary Western Ukraine before spreading rapidly throughout Eastern Europe. Today, most of those aff ...
Jewish merchants, with a long rabbinical tradition.Biographical notes@ Русская живопись (Russian painting). His early education was entirely religious, but when his parents noticed his talent and love for drawing, they decided to encourage him in that pursuit. When he was fourteen, he began attending classes at the
Imperial Academy of Arts
The Imperial Academy of Arts, informally known as the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts, was an art academy in Saint Petersburg, founded in 1757 by Ivan Shuvalov, the founder of the Imperial Moscow University, under the name ''Academy of th ...
in Saint Petersburg. His first drawings won praise from the sculptor, Mark Antokolsky, and he became a regular student there in 1874. Although his primary instructor was Pavel Chistyakov, Antokolsky would continue to be his mentor throughout his education. True to his beliefs, he petitioned the Academy to allow him to work on Sunday, rather than on the Sabbath
In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, Ten Commandments, commanded by God to be kept as a Holid ...
. He won several silver medals and was awarded two gold medals; for his depiction of Abraham
Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...
banishing Hagar
According to the Book of Genesis, Hagar is an Egyptian slave, a handmaiden of Sarah (then known as ''Sarai''), whom Sarah gave to her own husband Abram (later renamed Abraham) as a wife to bear him a child. Abraham's firstborn son, through Haga ...
and her son Ishmael
In the Bible, biblical Book of Genesis, Ishmael (; ; ; ) is the first son of Abraham. His mother was Hagar, the handmaiden of Abraham's wife Sarah. He died at the age of 137. Traditionally, he is seen as the ancestor of the Arabs.
Within Isla ...
(1878) and for "The Whore Before Christ" (1879).
In 1880, he was awarded the title of "Artist, First Class" and received a stipend to travel abroad for four years. He visited Italy, Germany and Austria, where he worked with Hans Makart in Vienna. While in Italy, he studied the Old Masters
In art history, "Old Master" (or "old master")Old Masters De ...
and produced a large canvas of Moses
In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...
in the desert, which earned him the title of "Academician" from the Imperial Academy.
In 1885, he returned to Saint Petersburg and was married. He continued to focus on Jewish themes, primarily from the Old Testament
The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...
and, in 1900, produced one of his best-known works: "Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes ( ) is one of the Ketuvim ('Writings') of the Hebrew Bible and part of the Wisdom literature of the Christian Old Testament. The title commonly used in English is a Latin transliteration of the Greek translation of the Hebrew word ...
". Despite some degree of financial difficulty, he never accepted commissions that ran counter to his beliefs. He usually did a great deal of research in libraries and museums to ensure that his works were historically accurate. For some reason, however, his works were not popular among the wealthy Russian Jews, who would have seemed to be his natural audience, and sold better abroad; especially in the United States.
Died on 6 (19) December 1902 in Moscow. He was buried in Dorogomilovsky cemetery. The works of the artist are in the collections of the State Russian Museum, the National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus and others.
Selected paintings
Jewish Wedding
A Jewish wedding is a wedding ceremony that follows Halakha, Jewish laws and Jewish culture, traditions. While wedding ceremonies vary, common features of a Jewish wedding include a ''ketubah'' (marriage contract) that is signed by two witnesse ...
with Klezmer
Klezmer ( or ) is an instrumental musical tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews of Central and Eastern Europe. The essential elements of the tradition include dance tunes, ritual melodies, and virtuosic improvisations played for listening; these wou ...
Band
File:Isaak Asknaziy 01.jpeg, The Whore Before Christ
References
Further reading
* * * *External links
Biography and appreciation
@ Российская академия художеств {{DEFAULTSORT:Asknaziy, Isaak 1856 births 1902 deaths People from Verkhnyadzvinsk district People from Drissensky Uyezd Belarusian Jews 19th-century Jews from the Russian Empire 19th-century painters from the Russian Empire Russian male painters Jewish painters Biblical art Russian history painters 19th-century male artists from the Russian Empire