Reuven Rubin (, ; November 13, 1893 – October 13, 1974) was a Romanian-born Israeli

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 ...

and Israel's first ambassador to Romania.

Biography

Reuven Zelicovici (later Reuven Rubin) was born in Galaţi to a poor Romanian Jewish

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 ...

family. His father, Rebbe Yoel, served as a synagogue cantor and beadle, and his mother Faige, a rabbi's daughter, was married in an arranged match at the age of 15. Reuven was the eighth of 13 children, of whom only three survived. His artistic talent began to emerge at the age of three, while studying in

cheder A ''cheder'' (, lit. 'room'; Yiddish pronunciation: ''khéyder'') is a traditional primary school teaching the basics of Judaism and the Hebrew language. History ''Cheders'' were widely found in Europe before the end of the 18th century. L ...

, a religious school for boys. Some of his paintings, sent in by his brother's friend, were published in a children's magazine, but his interest in art received no encouragement at home. After creating a

mizrah ''Mizrah'' (also spelled ''Mizrach'', ''Mizrakh'') () is the "east" and the direction that Jews in the Diaspora west of Israel face during prayer. Practically speaking, Jews face the city of Jerusalem when praying, and those north, east, or s ...

plaque for a synagogue in his hometown, he began to attraction attention and won a government prize. At the age of 15, he worked as a bookkeeper for a wine shop. A non-Jew who saw him working on a painting in the courtyard bought two of his paintings for the equivalent of $400. He persuaded the family to move to Falticeni, where his paternal grandmother lived. Here they had a small farm and their finances improved. In 1911, Dr. Adolf Stander, a Zionist leader, provided him with a scholarship and recommended that he study art at the Bezalel art school in

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 ...

. In February 1912, he set out for Palestine but was not happy with the school's approach and being assigned to an ivory carving workshop. In 1913, he left for

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 ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, to pursue his studies at the

École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in nor ...

. At the outbreak of

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 returned to Romania. In 1921, he traveled to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

with his friend and fellow artist, Arthur Kolnik, with whom he had shared a studio in Cernăuţi. In

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, the two met artist

Alfred Stieglitz Alfred Stieglitz (; January 1, 1864 – July 13, 1946) was an American photographer and modern art promoter who was instrumental over his 50-year career in making photography an accepted art form. In addition to his photography, Stieglitz was k ...

, who was instrumental in organizing their first American show at the Anderson Gallery. Following the exhibition, in 1922, they both returned to Europe. In 1923, Rubin emigrated to

Mandate Palestine The Mandate for Palestine was a League of Nations mandate for British administration of the territories of Palestine and Transjordanwhich had been part of the Ottoman Empire for four centuriesfollowing the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in Wo ...

. Rubin met his wife, Esther, in 1928, aboard a passenger ship to Palestine on his return from a show in

. She was a

Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

girl who had won a trip to Palestine in a Young Judea competition.

Artistic career

The history of Israeli art began at a very specific moment in the history of international art, at a time of Cezannian rebellion against the conventions of the past, a time typified by rapid stylistic changes. Thus Jewish national art had no fixed history, and no canon to obey. Rubin began his career at a fortunate time. The painters who depicted the country’s landscapes in the 1920s rebelled against Bezalel. They sought current styles in Europe that would help portray their own country’s landscape, in keeping with the spirit of the time. Rubin’s Cezannesque landscapes from the 1920sWebberley, Helen “Landscape Painting in Palestine: Not Just Cezanne with Olive Trees”, 20th Annual Conference, ACJC, Monash University, Feb 2008 were defined by both a modern and a naive style, portraying the landscape and inhabitants of Israel in a sensitive fashion. His landscape paintings in particular paid special detail to a spiritual, translucent light. In Palestine, he became one of the founders of the new '' Eretz-Yisrael style''. Recurring themes in his work were the biblical landscape, folklore and people, including Yemenite, Hasidic Jews and

Arabs Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...

. Many of his paintings are sun-bathed depictions of Jerusalem and the

Galilee Galilee (; ; ; ) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon consisting of two parts: the Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and the Lower Galilee (, ; , ). ''Galilee'' encompasses the area north of the Mount Carmel-Mount Gilboa ridge and ...

. Rubin might have been influenced by the work of

Henri Rousseau Henri Julien Félix Rousseau (; 21 May 1844 – 2 September 1910)
at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, Gug ...

whose style combined Eastern nuances, as well as by the neo-

Byzantine art Byzantine art comprises the body of artistic products of the Eastern Roman Empire, as well as the nations and states that inherited culturally from the empire. Though the empire itself emerged from the decline of Rome, decline of western Rome and ...

to which Rubin had been exposed in his native Romania. In accordance with his integrative style, he signed his works with his first name in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

and his surname in Roman letters. In 1924, he was the first artist to hold a solo exhibition at the

Tower of David The Tower of David (), also known as the Citadel (), is an ancient citadel and contemporary museum, located near the Jaffa Gate entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem, Old City of Jerusalem. The citadel that stands today dates to the Mamluk Sult ...

, in

(later exhibited in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

at Gymnasia Herzliya). That year he was elected chairman of the Association of Painters and Sculptors of Palestine. From the 1930s onwards, Rubin designed backdrops for Habima Theater, the Ohel Theater and other theaters. His autobiography, published in 1969, is titled ''My Life - My Art''. He died in Tel Aviv in October 1974, after having bequeathed his home on 14 Bialik Street and a core collection of his paintings to the city of Tel Aviv. The Rubin Museum opened in 1983. The director and curator of the museum is his daughter-in-law, Carmela Rubin. Rubin's paintings are now increasingly sought after. At a

Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

auction in

in 2007, his work accounted for six of the ten top lots.

Diplomatic career

In 1948, he became the first official Israeli diplomatic envoy (minister) to Romania. He served in this position until 1950.

Gallery

File:Reuven Rubin-The Beginnings of Tel-Aviv.jpg, ''The Beginnings of Tel-Aviv'', oil painting, 1912 File:'Galilean Hills', oil on canvas painting by Reuven Rubin.jpg, ''Galilean Hills'', oil on canvas File:Studio Reuven rubin 2.jpg, Reuven Rubin's studio in Tel Aviv

Awards and commemoration

* 1926 Awarded the Lord Plumer Prize * 1945 Receives Honorary Doctorate of Hebrew Letters, Jewish Institute of Religion, New York * 1964, Rubin received an "honorary award" of the Dizengoff Prize for Painting. * 1971 Awarded the "Artist of the year", University of Judaism, Los Angeles * 1973, he was awarded the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize (; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History Prior to the Israel Prize, the most significant award in the arts was the Dizengoff Prize and in Israel ...

, for painting.

References

External links

*Highest price for Rubin's work ever in Israel "
Shaykh-Munis
sold for 529,000$'' a
Tiroche auction house
2011 * * *
Rubin Museum

Reuven Rubin Catalogue Raisonne Project

by Carmela Rubin

from the Jewish Virtual Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Rubin, Reuven 1893 births 1974 deaths People from Galați Jewish Romanian painters Israeli people of Romanian-Jewish descent Romanian emigrants to Israel Ashkenazi Jews from Ottoman Palestine Ashkenazi Jews in Mandatory Palestine Israeli male painters Israeli scenic designers Israeli Ashkenazi Jews Romanian scenic designers Jewish Israeli painters Israel Prize in painting recipients 20th-century Israeli male artists 20th-century Israeli painters Académie Colarossi alumni Ambassadors of Israel to Romania Burials at Trumpeldor Cemetery