Isidor Kaufmann (, ; 22 March 1853 in Arad – 1921 in Vienna) was an

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

painter of

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

ish themes. Having devoted his career to

genre painting Genre painting (or petit genre) is the painting of genre art, which depicts aspects of everyday life by portraying ordinary people engaged in common activities. One common definition of a genre scene is that it shows figures to whom no identity ca ...

, he traveled throughout

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in search of scenes of Jewish, often

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 ...

life. The artist's life and work was featured by the Jewish Museum Vienna 1995 in a show curated by Tobias G. Natter.

Life and career

Born to

Hungarian Jewish The history of the Jews in Hungary dates back to at least the Kingdom of Hungary, with some records even predating the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin in 895 CE by over 600 years. Written sources prove that Jewish communities lived i ...

parents in Arad,

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

(presently in

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

), Kaufmann was originally destined for a commercial career, and could fulfill his wish to become a painter only later in life. In 1875, he went to the '' Landes-Zeichenschule'' in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, where he remained for one year. In 1876, he left for

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, but being refused admission to the Academy of Fine Arts there, he became a pupil of the portrait painter Joseph Matthäus Aigner. He then entered the ''Malerschule'' of the Vienna Academy, and later became a private pupil of Professor Trenkwald. His most noted paintings refer to the life of

Jews in Poland The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jews, Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the long pe ...

. They include: ''Der Besuch des

Rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

'' (the original of which was owned by

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Franz Joseph I Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

, in the

Kunsthistorisches Museum The Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien ( "Vienna Museum of art history, Art History", often referred to as the "Museum of Fine Arts, Vienna") is an art museum in Vienna, Austria. Housed in its festive palatial building on the Vienna Ring Road, i ...

), ''Schachspieler'', ''Der Zweifler'' (for which he received the gold medal at the '' Weltausstellung'' of 1873). Kaufmann's other honors include: the Baron Königswarter ''Künstler-Preis'', the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

of the Emperor of Germany, a gold medal of the International Exhibition at

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, and a medal of the third class at the Exposition Universelle in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. One of his most prominent students was Lazar Krestin. He married a cantor's daughter in 1882. They had five children. File:Isidor Kaufmann Portrait of a Yeshiva Boy.jpg, Kaufmann's ''Portrait of a Yeshiva Boy'' File:Isidor Kaufmann - Portrait of a Rabbi.jpg, Portrait of a Rabbi File:Kaufmann Day of Atonement.jpg, ''

Day of Atonement Yom Kippur ( ; , ) is the holiest day of the year in Judaism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, corresponding to a date in late September or early October. For traditional Jewish people, it is primarily centered on atonement and ...

'', before 1907

References

* * Tobias G. Natter (Ed.): ''Rabbiner – Bücher – Talmudschüler. Bilder des Wiener Malers Isidor Kaufmann 1853–1921'', exhibition catalog, Jewish Museum Vienna, 1995 . * *

Alexander Kohut Alexander (Chanoch Yehuda) Kohut (; April 22, 1842 – May 25, 1894) was a rabbi and orientalist. He belonged to a family of rabbis, the most noted among them being Rabbi Israel Palota, his great-grandfather, Rabbi Amram (called "The Gaon," who ...

, ''Berühmte Israelitische Männer und Frauen'' *
Ileana-Rodica Dinculescu, "Teme în pictura unor artişti evrei din Europa Modernă (până la mişcarea de avangardă)" ("Themes in the Art of Jewish Painters in Modern Europe– Before the Avant-Garde Movement")
at the

University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest (UB) () is a public university, public research university in Bucharest, Romania. It was founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princely Academy of Bucharest, P ...

site
Isidor Kaufmann (1853-1921)
1853 births 1921 deaths People from Arad, Romania Jewish Romanian artists Jews from Austria-Hungary 19th-century Hungarian painters 20th-century Hungarian painters 19th-century Hungarian people 20th-century Hungarian people Jewish Hungarian painters Hungarian male painters 19th-century Hungarian male artists 20th-century Hungarian male artists {{Jewish-hist-stub