Drawing Inspiration from History, Literature, and the Bible. Reflections on Selected Figures in the...

Monika Czekanowska-Gutman Drawing Inspiration from History, Literature and the Bible

Foreword

Monika Czekanowska-Gutman

Drawing Inspiration from History, Literature and the Bible. Reflections on Selected Figures in the Works of Maurycy Gottlieb

87Monika Czekanowska-Gutman Drawing Inspiration from History, Literature and the Bible

The range of subjects addressed by Maurycy Gottlieb (1856–1879), a distinguished

Polish-Jewish painter, who was active in the latter half of the 19th century, is extremely broad, which

evidences the artist’s enormous erudition in the field of literature, Polish-Jewish and Jewish history

and, obviously, the Bible. Knowledge of literature and an awareness of the cultural richness of Jewish

tradition, combined with a romantic sensitivity and excellent painting technique, contributed to the

creation of not only well-crafted compositions, but above all works not infrequently offering very

original interpretation and expressing the artist’s deep experience. Maurycy Gottlieb’s art, in particular

his paintings of literary, historical and biblical subjects, has been widely discussed.1 Moreover, a great

number of exhibitions and catalogues have been devoted to this artist, including a large post-war

monographic exhibition held in Warsaw, Tel Aviv, and Frankfurt am Main in 1991–1992.2 What makes

us want to present the oeuvre of this artist, who has hardly sunk into oblivion, once again? A question

arises whether all has been said about Gottlieb and whether his art can be defined by an otherwise

broad Christian-Jewish, or to be more precise Polish-Jewish, dialogue. In this essay, the author, refer-

ring to existing interpretations, will discuss the artist’s works devoted to the aforementioned motifs,

focusing particularly on biblical figures, to analyse them anew.

Common History

At the beginning of his artistic career, Gottlieb specialized in historical works. This choice was

influenced by the artist’s studies at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts, in the studios of Karl Mayer

(1810–1876) and Karl von Blaas (1815–1894) between 1871 and 1873, and above all at the School

of Fine Arts in Krakow under the tutelage of Jan Matejko (1838–1893) in 1874. Regarded as a pic-

tor doctus, Matejko, who had a broad knowledge of Polish history and cultivated national themes,

and was a brilliant director and talented colourist (as described by Moses Waldman), hypnotized

eighteen-year-old Gottlieb, showing him how to express his patriotic feelings through art.3 It was in

Matejko’s atelier that the young artist painted his first important works, inspired by the master’s can-

vases, depicting events from Polish history, namely: Levy in Mass (1873/18744), two paintings known

today only from photographs: Livonian Brothers of the Sword Asking Sigismund Augustus to Defend


Kawalerowie inflanccy proszą o opiekę Zygmunta Augusta przeciw cesarzowi FerdynandowiLivonian Brothers of the Sword Asking Sigismund Augustus to Defend Them against Emperor Ferdinand

1874

olej, płótno / oil, canvas Repr. Nehma Guralnik, In the Flower of Youth. Maurycy Gottlieb 1856–1879, The Tel Aviv Museum of Art, 1991, s. 69 / Repr. by Nehma Guralnik, In the Flower of Youth. Maurycy Gottlieb 1856–1879, The Tel Aviv Museum of Art, 1991, p. 69


Them against Emperor Ferdinand (18745), whose composition is reminiscent of Bathory at Pskov

(18726), and Albert of Brandenburg Receiving Investiture from King Sigismund I (18747), inspired by

The Union of Lublin (18698), drawings: King Sobieski (18739), Kościuszko’s Oath in Krakow (1874),

Boleslausthe Bravein Front of Kiev’s Gate (187410), and Sigismund Augustus and Giżanka (187411),

modelled on Sigismund Augustus and Barbara Radziwiłł (186712). At that time, Gottlieb also painted

many portraits, including that of Sigismund Augustus,13 and the first self-portrait in the clothes of

a Polish nobleman (187414). The anti-Semitic attitude of both one of his teachers and other students

made Gottlieb leave the Krakow Academy and go to Vienna for a while, and then, having received

a letter of recommendation from Matejko,15 to Munich.

While staying in the Munich studio of Karl Theodor von Piloty (1826–1886) in the academic

year of 1875–1876, the young artist began to study History of the Jews, 1853–1875 by the Jewish

historian Heinrich Graetz (1817–1891). Having read this study, Gottlieb decided to devote himself

entirely to depicting Jewish history and tradition. It was then that he painted, among other things,

Jewish Wedding (187616), A Copyist of the Torah (187617), The Expulsion of Moors from Granada

(1877), Jews in the Synagogue (187818), Jews Praying in the Synagogue on Yom Kippur (187819) and

a great number of portraits of Jewish personalities, including Ignacy Kuranda (187820), Emil Beres

(187821) and Maurycy Wahrmann (187822).

The Expulsion of Moors from Granada (187723) alludes to the fall of the Muslim stronghold in

1492, which put an end to the magnificent Arab and Jewish culture on the Iberian Peninsula, and

consequently forced the two aforementioned communities to leave this area. Because of his Jewish

roots, Gottlieb felt a spiritual affinity with Arabs, which was reflected in his self-portrait in Bedouin

attire (187724). An elaborate composition shows two Moors in the centre, a woman and a man (with

similar features to the artist), clad in oriental clothes. Forced to leave their homes, they are standing

Król Kazimierz Wielki i jego żydowska metresaKing Casimir the Great and His Jewish Mistress

niedatowany / undated

► 161


on a hill and watching the fall of their hometown with terror. They are surrounded by other inhabit-

ants of the town, both old and young, sitting helplessly and bewailing their loss or praying. Behind

them rises an impressive Moorish building – a symbol of their magnificent culture counterbalanced

by a church with a cross – a sign of the new rule, the cause of their misery.

Towards the end of his life, under the influence of his stay in Italy and a very warm welcome

during a party organized in Rome in 1878 to honour Matejko, Gottlieb decided to return to Poland to

work intensively on scenes from the life of Christ and on a series of paintings devoted to Polish and

Jewish history during the reign of King Casimir the Great: Jews Asking Casimir the Great to Be Ad-

mitted to Poland (1879), Casimir the Great Granting Rights to the Jews (1879) and Casimir the Great

and Esther.25 The first, unfinished, painting is mentioned in his letters,26 and a study for Casimir the

Great and Esther (187927) is part of a private collection in Tel Aviv.28 The Museum of Jewish Art and

History in Paris possesses another painting attributed to Gottlieb which presumably depicts Casimir

III the Great and His Mistress Esther (187929).

Between the Jewish and Christian Worlds: Literary Themes

Apart from history, another source of inspiration for Gottlieb was literature, especially German (Ger-

man was the artist’s first language), but also Polish and English. Paintings and sketches inspired by

the works of Gotthold Efraim Lessing (1729–1781), Karl Gutzkow (1811–1878), Heinrich Heine

(1797–1856), Johann Wolfgang Goethe (1749–1832), Adam Mickiewicz (1798–1855), William

Shylock i Jessyka Shylock and Jessica

1876

olej, płótno; brak wymiarów, dzieło zaginione / oil, canvas; dimensions unknown, lost


Shakespeare (1564–1616) and Walter Scott (1771–1832) were not only illustrations of these books,

but they were also the results of independent, unique reflections upon the artist’s spiritual dilemmas.

One of Gottlieb’s first works on a strictly literary subject was drawn from Polish literature. It was an

illustration of Mickiewicz’s ballad Czaty [the Watch] (187530), executed in Vienna.

The painting that brought Gottlieb fame and a gold medal in Munich was Shylock and Jessica

(187631), painted in Piloty’s studio at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts.32 William Shakespeare’s The

Merchant of Venice (1594–1597) inspired Gottlieb to depict difficult Polish-Christian relations, as

well as painful relationships between parents and children. Shakespeare’s Shylock is a contemptible

tradesman making a profit through usury, who wants money and is possessed by a thirst for revenge

for the harm he has suffered from Christians. In short, he is characterized by certain negative person-

ality traits usually ascribed to Jews. In contrast, Gottlieb portrays him as a loving, caring and at the

same time helpless old father, who is embracing his daughter affectionately. Soon she will leave him

in secret, not only taking his fortune with her, but also having made a decision, fraught with conse-

quences, to abandon the faith of his fathers and convert to Christianity in order to marry her beloved

Lorenzo, a Christian. Aurelia Gottlieb, the wife of Leopold Gottlieb (the artist’s younger brother),

made an interesting comment about this painting:

“This kid, who used to be cross with his father so often and who was not always able to under-

stand his attachment, managed to recognize, with infallible intuition, the sea of paternal love in this

Judyta z głową Holofernesa Judith with the Head of Holofernes

1877–78► 147


Powitanie Nathana przez Rechę Illustrations for Lessing’s Nathan the Wise

1877

olej, płótno / oil, canvas; 110 x 80 cm Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie, kolekcja prywatna / private collection Agra Art, Warszawa, Polska / Bridgeman Images


infamous bloodthirsty moneylender and the tragedy that could make him a ruthless avenger of his

harm”.33

Gottlieb chose a very simple, even limited composition for this scene, reduced to two figures

emotionally attached to each other. It is commonly believed to have been inspired by Matejko’s Si-

gismund Augustus and Barbara Radziwiłł (1867)34; however, the spirituality and sadness emanating

from the painting, as well as the warm, golden light, show the clear influence of Rembrandt, whose

works Gottlieb studied at the Munich Pinakothek. The figures of Shylock and Jessica are modelled

with wide patches of colour. Strong light focused on Jessica, highlighting the texture of her rich attire

and jewellery, makes her the main character of the whole drama. What draws attention in her face

are her pensive eyes, filled with sadness, looking with anxiety into the future. They express the inner

conflict bothering Gottlieb, who was on the one hand attached to the centuries-long tradition of his an-

cestors, associated with the old man, Shylock, and on the other perhaps considering the possibility of

assimilation, which would make it easier for the Jewish artist to live and work in the Christian world.

Having achieved success with this work, Gottlieb received an offer from the German publisher

Franz Bruckmann to make photograph-like illustrations for Lessing’s play Nathan the Wise (1779).

The artist managed to complete four paintings: Sultan, Sittah and Nathan, Saladin and Sittah Play-

ing Chess, Father Greeted by Recha, and Saving Recha from the Flames, as well as twelve sketches.

This time, the painter dealt with the problem of the coexistence of different religions and cultures:

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, as well as their peculiarities and interrelations. These multifigural

compositions, depicting people in medieval clothes against a background of Moorish architecture,

were painted en grisaille, in clear, golden-grey colours, which give them an aura of attractive deco-

rativeness. In Father Greeted by Recha (187735), a particularly meaningful work in the series that

shows Nathan, a worried Jewish father, kissing his adopted daughter Recha, the artist used the same

composition as in his earlier painting Shylock and Jessica.

Another literary work from this period that appealed to Gottlieb’s romantic nature was Uriel

Acosta (1846) by the German playwright Karl Gutzkow, which fought against religious fanaticism

and called for religious tolerance. Gottlieb’s famous painting Uriel Acosta and Judith van Straaten

(187736), inspired by this book, concentrates on the love theme and shows a Portuguese maran who

is persecuted by both Christians and Jews, which makes him commit suicide with his beloved Ju-

dith van Straaten. In this painting, Gottlieb modelled Judith after his sweetheart Laura Rosenfeld

(1857–1944), whom he had probably met during his stay in Vienna in 1875 and became engaged to

two years later. Another work in which the artist alluded to Gutzkow’s work is Uriel Acosta in the

Synagogue (187737).

Other paintings inspired by literary works included Margaret in the Church (187738), which was

a scene from Faust by Goethe, and the unfinished painting Richard the Lionheart Rescuing Rebecca

(1878, oil on canvas, lost), which was a scene from the novel Ivanhoe (1879) by Walter Scott. After

returning from Rome to Krakow, just before his untimely death, Gottlieb began working on paintings


symbolizing Polish-Jewish reconciliation: Jankiel and Zosia (187939) and an oil sketch that was most

likely for a larger composition – Jankiel the Dulcimer Player.40

Breaking Established Conventions: Biblical Figures

From 1877, apart from his literary interest, Gottlieb was also working intensively on biblical scenes

from Jewish and Christian traditions. The selection of complicated, ambiguous female and male

figures from the Old and New Testaments, as well as their unique, not very traditional representation,

make the artist’s works devoted to biblical subjects express one of his most fascinating visions. Paint-

ings inspired by the Old Testament included not only drawings such as Moses Before the Pharaoh

(1873/187441), The Maccabees (187442), and The Judgment of Salomon (187843), but also paintings

such as Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife (187744), Judith with the Head of Holofernes (1877–1878), and

Rachel.45 In contrast, Christian tradition was a source of inspiration for scenes from the life of Christ in

The Trial of Jesus Christ (1877–1879) and Jesus Preaching at Capernaum (1878–1879), lost sketches

such as Christ among Fishermen in Capernaum (1878) and Christ after Flagellation (1878),46 as well

as episodes from the story of Salome: Salome with the Head of John the Baptist (1877–1878) and

Salome’s Dance (1879). Another work inspired by the Bible is Ahasuerus (187647) – a painting with

complicated semantics, executed in Munich. What made the artist paint this self-portrait in Munich

was probably his deep reflection upon his place in the world, torn between different cultures. A young

Jewish man with oriental features – large, dark eyes, ebony, curly hair, a prominent nose and slightly

open, expressive lips can be seen against a red background. He is clad in eastern attire, has a golden

diadem on his head, and one of his ears is decorated with a round earring. His slightly leaning figure

and exposed left ear seem to signify the man is engrossed in listening to an undefined voice. The

expression of sadness and melancholy in his eyes emphasize mental absence, as if no solution to the

problems bothering him could bring comfort. In this painting, Gottlieb identifies with two characters:

King Ahasuerus of Persia, who married Esther, a Jewess, and at her request did not execute Haman’s

decree to destroy all the Jews, and the Wandering Jew, whom – according to a medieval legend – was

cursed by Christ, on his way to Golgotha, to walk the earth until the Second Coming.48 As rightly

noted by Jerzy Malinowski, in this work Gottlieb expressed a sad reflection upon the figure’s duality:

his wealth and regal splendour, symbolized by the diadem and oriental jewellery, coexist with the

poverty emanating from his dark attire and sad countenance; happy life mixes with tragic destiny,

and the “excellent past” with the “miserabilistic present”.49 Portraying himself as Ahasuerus, the art-

ist probably wanted to express not only the tragic nature of his life – as a well-off man, yet marked

by the stigma of a homeless wanderer – but also the drama of the whole Jewish nation in the second

half of the 19th century; a nation with a fine and rich tradition, doomed to homelessness and anguish.

Gottlieb also alluded to the image of Ahasuerus in his self-portrait in Jesus Preaching at Capernaum.

When painting biblical female figures, Gottlieb chose women giving way to their passions and

depicted them with an air of sensuality and mystery, always highlighting their extraordinary beauty.

The unfinished painting Judith with the Head of Holofernes (1877–187850) is particularly interesting


Taniec Salome Salome’s Dance

1879► 158–159


in this respect. Although this Polish-Jewish painter depicted a scene in which the biblical protagonist

has already achieved the desired trophy – Holofernes’s head, a recurring motif both in Christian art

and Hebrew manuscripts – the way in which this figure is represented differs from the old and modern

iconographic tradition. A silhouette of a young woman in a light-coloured dress can be seen against

a dark brown background. Her raven-black hair, partly tied back and partly cascading down her right

shoulder, is decorated with a headdress made of shining stones. Gold bracelets glisten on her wrists,

and a belt set with precious stones slides down her hips. The influence of Orientalism, an artistic

movement that enjoyed popularity in Gottlieb’s time, is evidenced not only by the woman’s sensual

attire and face, but above all by the uncovered left breast of this biblical character and the intimate

and seductive arrangement of her legs, standing on her toes, reminiscent of Salome (1870) by Henri

Regnault (1843–1871), which Gottlieb might have seen in Vienna or Munich. The key to understand-

ing the scene is Judith’s left hand’s tender and intimate gesture. The woman’s long, widespread fingers

are stroking Holofernes’s raven-black hair – heralding Judith I (1901) by Gustav Klimt (1862–1918)

– which can be seen on the severed head, emphasizing the connection between Eros and Thanatos.

This scene, with clear narration, suggests that Judith’s thoughts seem to be different from those of

the biblical protagonist celebrating with utter joy her victory over the nation’s enemy. To show the

tragic situation of the woman who is contemplating her deed, Gottlieb drew extensively on a drama

by Friedrich Hebbel (1813–1863) entitled Judith (1841).51

Apart from the literary source, worthy of note is yet another reference, this time to the artist’s

biography. Gottlieb started to work on this painting in 1877, when he was deeply in love with Laura

Rosenfeld. That year she broke off her engagement to Gottlieb, and in 1879, two weeks before his

death, married Leon Henschel.52 One can read about Gottlieb’s stormy experiences and his deep

passion in his letters to his beloved dating from 1877.53 It seems that the painter used the biblical

character’s contemplative countenance to visualize his traumatic love experience, and maybe also to

project his expectations about the future. The fact that the artist identified with Holofernes may be

signified by an inscription under the head of the beheaded warrior.

The way in which Judith has been depicted by this Polish-Jewish painter is also reminiscent

of Salome, a femme fatale from the New Testament, the personification of the destructive feminine

sensuality and perverse predilection for evil and oriental lavishness.54 It is worth emphasizing that

the arrangement of the legs of Gottlieb’s seated Judith as well as her left hand resting on the man’s

head might have inspired Pierre Bonnaud (1865–1930), a painter of historical scenes, genre paint-

ings and portraits, who painted Salome in 1900.55 And while Gottlieb’s Judith – in light of what has

been said so far – may be regarded as a tragic figure, the French Salome provokes anxiety, emanating

fatal eroticism and a sadistic look – the typical elements of the iconography of this figure at the turn

of the 20th century.

Gottlieb used the composition and ideological aspect characterizing his former work in a sketch

for a larger, unfinished painting entitled Salome with the Head of John the Baptist (1877–187956). An

oriental lady has stopped by an antique column probably while walking away from a birthday party in


honour of her stepfather. She is wearing a long, elegant dress, slightly exposing her left arm decorated

with gold bracelets. This is Salome, who is looking sadly at the prophet’s head on a platter, or rather

putting it tenderly against her temple; she is both happy and unhappy with what she has done, as if it

was not intentional. A small drum and a cape are lying near the woman, which are reminders of the

dance that preceded this tragic finale (Mt 14:6). The drama of the scene signifies that this work was

not directly inspired by an excerpt from the Gospel of Matthew (14:1–12) or Mark (6:14–29), but

rather by one of the songs from the famous poem by Heinrich Heine, Atta Troll. A Midsummer Night’s

Dream (1841–1842). One of the three female figures in the 19th chapter of this poem is the queen of

Judea, Herodias – Herod’s beautiful wife, who demanded the prophet’s head because of her unrequited

love for him, and, after obtaining it, kissed it passionately.57 This excerpt had a profound influence

on the representation of Salome in 19th and 20th-century art (such as in the works of Hugo Kraus and

Franz von Lenbach).58 The daughter’s and mother’s wish was identified as one, such as, for example,

in a painting by Hugo von Habermann (1849–1929) entitled Salome or Herodias (1896).59 Although

Gottlieb did not portray Herodias but her daughter, he referred to the same motif of women’s nature

combining the features of both a murderer and a lover. However, the way the protagonist is depicted

is different from both the old and contemporary iconographic traditions of Salome as a murderer (as

in the works of Lucas Cranach the Elder, Hugo von Habermann, and Lovis Corinth). A delicate move-

ment of the hand touching the prophet’s head is reminiscent more of an affectionate gesture made by

a Thracian girl in the painting Orpheus or Thracian Girl Carrying the Head of Orpheus (1866) by

Gustave Moreau (1826–1898). Gottlieb is particularly interested in Salome’s psychological reaction

and her pain caused by unrequited love.60 Most probably, by devoting a work to this subject, Gottlieb

wanted to express the pain he felt after being rejected by his beloved Laura and the tragic end of their

relationship.

It is worth mentioning yet another painting alluding – through one of its titles (Shulamite) – to

a biblical theme, namely the Beloved from The Song of Songs. However, the representation of the

figure seems rather to refer to Odalisque or Gypsy (187761). The figure depicted in this work is a young

oriental-looking woman with uncovered breasts and parted lips, looking mistrustfully towards the

viewer. The model’s passive pose and erotic aura emanating from the painting bring to mind other

19th-century works showing odalisques (by Jean Auguste Ingres and Eugène Delacroix). Gottlieb

worked on this painting in 1877–1878 at the Vienna Academy, under the supervision of Heinrich von

Angeli (1840–1925), a portraitist and history painter. However, at that time he was largely influenced

by a more distinguished and skilled artist, Hans Makart (1840–1884), Angeli’s master. Gottlieb’s

painting is a faithful copy of Makart’s An Egyptian Princess (1875–187662), which the Viennese

painter executed after his trip to Egypt as a result of his interest in the world of the Orient and the

harem. Most probably it was the artist’s fascination with Makart’s art, not only its decorativeness,

intense colours and mild eroticism, but also the beauty of femininity that encouraged Gottlieb to paint

this figure in his work, which was later given three titles by critics.

Finally, worthy of particular attention are two monumental canvases devoted to the most im-

portant scenes from the life of Christ (His teaching and trial), which the artist painted as a result of

the complex process of his ideological and creative development. Brought up in a spirit of tolerance

and Haskalah (the Jewish Enlightenment), the artist received a Christian education, for example in

a school run by the Basilian Fathers. Moreover, during his short life he called for Polish-Jewish rec-

onciliation, as signified by his reflection after a party thrown in honour of Matejko in Rome in 1878:

“How I would love to eradicate the hatred that rises above the suffering nation, how I would love to

bring Poles and Jews together, after all the history of the two nations is the history of suffering!”63

Having studied at several European academies of art, the artist had a broad knowledge of Chris-

tian iconography, which, in addition to allegorical, mythological and historical scenes, was part of

the thematic canons of history painting in the first half of the 19th century. It appears most probable,

however, that Gottlieb’s works showing episodes from the life of Jesus were inspired by History of the

Jews by Graetz. This historian portrayed Christ as a pious and practicing Jew, a teacher who propa-

gated humility and contempt for worldly goods. Graetz’s decision to include Jesus in the history of the

Jewish nation should be perceived in the context of a certain trend in Jewish philosophy advocated,

among others, by Moses Mendelssohn (1729–1786) and Abraham Geiger (1810–1874).64 Although

other Jewish artists active before Gottlieb also depicted Christ in their works, for example Moritz-

Oppenheim (1880–1882) and Marek Antokolski (1840–1902), by including his self-portrait in both

scenes, the painter from Drohobych seemed to express his very personal attitude towards this figure.

The subject of The Trial of Jesus Christ (1877–187965), depicting the trial of Christ both by the

Sanhedrin and Pilate, was used as early as in the Middle Ages, in Passion series both in paintings

and prints. The tonality of this composition consisting of faded browns, reds, greys and whites seems

to soothe the heated discussion between the standing figure of Christ and the seated high priest

Caiaphas and representatives of the Sanhedrin. The artist portrayed Jesus as a pious Jew wearing

a yarmulke covering part of his dark hair, sidelocks and a tallit with tzitzit. This image was inspired

by Antokolski’s sculpture Ecce Homo, which Gottlieb must have been familiar with from a reproduc-

tion.66 However, Christ, as opposed to other figures, does not have clearly “Semitic” features, such as an

aquiline nose.67 He is a courageous Jewish man gesticulating widely and defending his opinions that

are different from theirs. He is so different from the Jesus with a pale face, standing with His head

lowered and hands tied, clad in a modest white robe and with a halo around His head (the symbol of

divinity, used in the Passion scenes – as in the works of Giotto di Bondone, Tintoretto, Matthias Stom

and Benjamin West). Like in Graetz’s book, Gottlieb’s Christ defends the oppressed, the poor, and

those excluded from Jewish society, portrayed around him in this work. Near them, just behind the

central figure, one can see a delicately modelled portrait of the artist emerging from the background.

Jesus Preaching at Capernaum (1878–187968) is not a very common motif in art (apart from il-

lustrations for the New Testament by Gerbrand van der Eeckhout, Gustave Doré and James Tissot).

It shows Jesus as a biblical prophet in the synagogue; however, with a golden halo around His head.

He is standing on the bimah (platform) and interpreting an excerpt from the scrolls of the Torah lying


99

in front of Him, arousing various reactions in those present. Jesus’s Jewish roots are evidenced not

only by the elements of His dress, such as a large tallit with tzitzit on His shoulders and a small tallit

tied around His waist, but also his “Semitic” facial features.

Jesus is surrounded by Jews, who, like him, are dressed in an ancient manner, namely oriental

tunics and coats, and most of them have their heads covered with turbans and tallits, in accordance

with religious rites. The artist painted himself among the figures depicted in this scene. Gottlieb’s

face, slightly turned to his friend, marked by sadness and concentration, may suggest that the artist is

thinking about something different.

Ezra Mendelsohn has interpreted this painting, including Gottlieb’s self-portrait, in the context of

the artist’s assimilatory problems. According to the scholar, both the sadness accompanying the scene

and the fact that the majority of Jews depicted here (including the painter) are not looking at Jesus and

seem not to be listening to him signify that the artist was no longer optimistic about assimilation and,

moreover, was doubtful whether it was possible at all.69 However, it would be difficult to agree with

this opinion taking into account, for instance, the mood of the participants seated on the synagogue

benches: their reflection, melancholy, reverie, engrossment in prayer and even delight. The image

of Gottlieb listening carefully, like King Ahasuerus in a different work, to a mysterious voice may

be perceived not as a pejorative answer to assimilation, but rather as deep reflection about what the

two traditions have in common. An interesting interpretation of the two scenes from the life of Christ

(though with an anti-Jewish tinge) was suggested by Józef Wojciechowski, a critic from Gottlieb’s

time, who connected them with the painting Jews Praying in the Synagogue, suggesting that “they

make up a kind of trilogy and seem to share the same thought though at different stages. The first

features Christ as a divine master, the second Christ as the comforter and saviour of His nation, and

the third depicts the penance of the nation that renounced Him”.70

While the artist used historical themes mainly to promote Polish-Jewish reconciliation and illus-

trate the history of his people, literary and biblical subjects enabled him to express his intercultural

dilemmas as well as show his impressive, rich inner life. Literary and biblical figures selected by

the painter – torn between different worlds, tormented by constant inner conflicts (Shylock and Jes-

sica, Uriel Acosta, Ahasuerus), passion and despair caused by unrequited love (Judith, Salome), and

deviating from the established norms (Christ) – were depicted differently than how they had usually

been represented in old or contemporary iconography, that is to say in a deeper psychological manner.

Some of them, such as Judith and Christ, influenced artists of the next generations handling similar

themes (Pierre Bonnaud, Samuel Hirszenberg, Wilhelm Wachtl).



1. J. Malinowski, Maurycy Gottlieb (Warszawa: 1997); N. Guralnik, In the Flower of Youth: Maurycy Gottlieb 1856–1879 (exhibition catalogue), (Tel Aviv: 1991), pp. 27–77; E. Mendelsohn, Painting a People: Maurycy Gottlieb and Jewish Art (Hanover: 2002), pp. 118–138; E. Kozubska, ‘Jewish Literary Themes in Painting’, in Jewish Themes in English and Polish Culture, ed. by I. Janicka-Świderska, J. Jarniewicz, A. Sumera (Łódź: 2000), pp. 97–137.

2. N. Gurlanik, op. cit. The exhibition was held in the Tel Aviv Museum of Art from 16 May to 20 July 1991, the National Museum in Warsaw from 19 Aug. to 20 Oct. 1991, and the Jewish Museum in Frankfurt am Main from 27 Nov. 1991 to 23 Feb. 1992.

3. M. Waldman, Maurycy Gottlieb 1856–1879. Biografia artystyczna (Kraków: 1932), p. 15.

4. Oil on canvas, The National Museum in Krakow.

5. Oil on canvas, lost.

6. The Royal Castle in Warsaw.


8. The Lublin Museum, Lublin.

9. Lost.

10. Z. Sołtysowa, ‘Dzieło Maurycego Gottlieba’, Rocznik Krakowski 47 (1976), p. 178; N. Guralnik, op. cit, p. 66.

11. Oil on canvas, collection of Eliezer Lewins, Savyon, Israel.

12. Oil on canvas, The National Museum in Warsaw.

13. Z. Sołtysowa, op. cit., p. 178; J. Malinowski, Maurycy Gottlieb, p. 18.

14. Lost.

15. This incident is described e.g. by J. Wiesenberg: (Maurycy Gottlieb (1856–1879). Szkic biograficzny, (Złoczów: 1888), p. 17), J. Sandel (‘Maurycy Gottlieb – uczeń Matejki’, Biuletyn Żydowskiego Instytutu Historycznego, 4 (1953), p. 105), J. Malinowski (Maurycy Gottlieb, p. 20), E. Mendelsohn (Painting a People, p. 32; Mendelsohn cites the account of Marian Gorzkowski (1830–1911), a writer and confidant of Jan Matejko, published in Czas, 3 (1879), p. 187). The name of the professor whose anti-Semitic behaviour caused Gottlieb’s departure is not known. However, it is a fact that there were anti-Semitic sentiments at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow. Matejko, though looking favourably on Gottlieb, did not conceal his aversion to Jews, which was reflected in his paintings on Polish and Jewish subjects. This has been mentioned e.g. by J. Krawczyk (Matejko i historia, Warszawa: 1990, pp. 189–192), E. Mendelsohn (Painting a People, pp. 204–205), and D. Konstantynów (‘Mistrz

nasz Matejko i antysemici’, Kwartalnik Historii Żydów, 2 (2007) (222), pp. 164–198).

16. Oil on canvas backed with cardboard, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem.

17. Oil on cardboard, The National Museum in Warsaw.

18. Oil on canvas backed with cardboard, The Lviv National Art Gallery.

19. Oil on canvas, The Tel Aviv Museum of Art.

20. Oil on canvas, The National Museum in Krakow.


22. Oil on canvas, Ein Harod, Israel.

23. 36 x 26.5 cm, oil on paper backed with canvas, The Museum of Art in Łódź.

24. Oil on canvas, lost. The painting is known thanks to a copy by Maurycy’s brother, Marcin Gottlieb (1887, oil on canvas, The Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw).

25. J. Malinowski, Maurycy Gottlieb, p. 72.

26. Igrot we Divrej Joman meet Maurici Gottlieb, orech. M. Narkiss (Jerusalem: 1956), p. 57.

27. Oil on canvas.

28. The painting was reproduced in the catalogue for the N. Guralnik exhibition (op. cit., p. 183).

29. Oil on canvas.

30. 24 x 18 cm, oil on canvas, The Lviv National Art Gallery.

31. 166.5 x 109.5 cm, oil on canvas, lost.


33. A. Gottliebowa, ‘Życie i twórczość Maurycego Gottlieba’, Miesięcznik Żydowski, 3 (1932), p. 214.

34. J. Malinowski, Maurycy Gottlieb, p. 15; N. Guralnik, op. cit., p. 54.

35. 110 x 80 cm, oil on canvas, in the collection of Alicja and Jacek Molenda, Warsaw.

36. 136 x 187 cm, oil on canvas, in the collections of the Holzers, Mexico City.

37. Oil on canvas, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem.


39. Unknown storage place.


41. The Museum of Art, Ein Harod, Israel.

42. Ink drawing on paper, The National Museum in Krakow.

43. Oil on canvas backed with cardboard, lost.

44. Oil on canvas, The Museum of Art, Ein Harod, Israel.

Footnotes


45. Oil on canvas, The Wawel Royal Castle National Art Collection, Krakow.

46. J. Malinowski, Malarstwo i rzeźba Żydów Polskich w XIX i XX wieku (Warszawa: 2000), p. 34.

47. 63 x 53 cm, oil on canvas, The National Museum in Krakow, Gallery of 19th-century Polish Art in the Sukiennice.

48. However, it must be clarified that this Jew wandering all over the world was called Ahasuerus in an anonymous pamphlet entitled ‘Kurze Beschreibung und Erzählung von einem Juden mit Namen Ahasverus Ahasverus’ [‘A Brief Description and Narration Regarding a Jew Named Ahasuerus’], published in Germany in 1602. According to it, Ahasuerus, a native of Jerusalem, taunted Christ and chased Him away when He stopped for a while in front of his house. Legend has it that Christ told him: ‘I stand and rest, but you will go on.’ The iconography of the Wandering Jew in Jewish and Christian art, but with no mention of Gottlieb’s painting, is analyzed in an article by R. I. Cohen, ‘The “Wandering Jew” from Medieval Legend to Modern Metaphor’, in The Art of Being Jewish in Modern Times, ed. by B. Kirshenblatt-Gimblett and J. Karp (Philadelphia: 2008), pp. 147–175. More about the origin and development of the motif of the Wandering Jew can be found in a book by G. K. Anderson, The Legend of the Wandering Jew (Hanover: 1991).


50. Oil on canvas, 55.5 x 30.5 cm, The National Museum in Warsaw.

51. N. Gurlanik, op. cit., p. 62; J. Malinowski, Malarstwo i rzeźba…, p. 64.

52. Igrot weDivrej Joman meet Maurici Gottlieb, p. 38; Maurycy Gottlieb, 1856–1879: Commemorative Exhibition on the Occasion of the Centennial of his Birth, ed. by M. Narkiss (exhibition catalogue) (Jerusalem: 1956), p. 6.

53. Igrot weDivrej Joman meet Maurici Gottlieb, pp. 31–40.

54. Although the subject of Salome in art has been widely discussed in literature, the only monograph so far on Salome’s iconography is a study by Hugo Daffner, Salome: Ihre Gestalt in Geschichte und Kunst: Dichtung – Bildende Kunst-Musik (Munich: 1912).

55. Cf. Benezit Dictionary of Artists, Bedeschini-Bülow, vol. 2 (Paris: 2006), p. 825.

56. 27.5 x 17.5 cm, oil on panel, The National Museum in Warsaw.

57. In Heine’s poem it is Herodias that is holding John the Baptist’s head (see H. Heine, Atta Troll, ein Sommernachtstraum. Deutschland, ein Wintermärchen, ed. by B. Fairley (Oxford: 1954), p. 91).

58. M. Hatz, Frauengestalten des Alten Testaments in der bildenden Kunst von 1850 – bis 1918. Eva, Dalila, Judith, Salome (Heidelberg: 1972), p. 83.

59. Cf. B. Dijkstra, Idols of Perversity: Fantasies of Feminine Evil in Fin-de-Siècle Culture (Oxford: 1986), p. 387.


61. 26.5 x 16.5 cm, oil on panel, Alexander R. Raydon, Raydon Gallery, New York.

62. 129 x 84 cm, oil on canvas, private collection. See: A. Husslein-Arco, A. Klee, Makart: Painter of the Senses (Munich: 2011), p. 82.

63. M. Waldman, op. cit., p. 67.

64. The painter read this book in Munich and was influenced by it (cf. J. Malinowski, Maurycy Gottlieb, p. 25; E. Mendelsohn, Painting a People, p. 35).

65. 160.5 x 282 cm, oil on canvas, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem.

66. Z. Amishai-Maisels, ‘Origins of the Jewish Jesus’, in Complex Identities: Jewish Consciousness and Modern Art, ed. by M. Baigell and M. Heyd (New Brunswick: 2001), p. 96.

67. Ibid., p. 62.

68. 271.5 x 209 cm, oil on canvas, The National Museum in Warsaw.

69. E. Mendelsohn, ‘Emunot weHistorija yehudit: Jeszu doresz beKfar Nahum leMoric Gottlieb’, Zion: A Quarterly for Research in Jewish History, vol. 62 (1997), p. 189.

70. J. Wojciechowski, ‘Salon sztuk pięknych Ungra w Warszawie’, Tygodnik Ilustrowany, 208 (1879), p. 387. It was Jerzy Malinowski who drew attention to Wojciechowski’s interpretation (cf. J. Malinowski, Maurycy Gottlieb, p. 54).


Bibliography

Amishai-Maisels Z.,‘Origins of the Jewish Jesus’, in Complex Identities: Jewish Consciousness and Modern Art, ed. by M. Baigell and M. Heyd (New Brunswick: 2001).

Anderson G. K., The Legend of the Wandering Jew (Hannover: 1991).

Benezit Dictionary of Artists, vol. 2 (Paris: 2006).

Cohen R. I., ‘The “Wandering Jew” from Medieval Legend to Modern Metaphor’, in The Art of Being Jewish in Modern Times, ed. by B. Kirshenblatt-Gimblett and J. Karp (Philadelphia: 2008).

Daffner H., Salome: Ihre Gestalt in Geschichte und Kunst: Dichtung – Bildende Kunst-Musik (Munich: 1912).

Dijkstra B., Idols of Perversity: Fantasies of Feminine Evil in Fin-de-Siècle Culture (Oxford: 1986).

Gottliebowa A., ‘Życie i twórczość Maurycego Gottlieba’, Miesięcznik Żydowski (1932), p. 3.

Guralnik N., In the Flower of Youth: Maurycy Gottlieb 1856–1879 (exhibition catalogue), Tel Aviv Museum of Art (Tel Aviv: 1991).

Hatz M., Frauengestalten des Alten Testaments in der bildenden Kunst von 1850 – bis 1918. Eva, Dalila, Judith, Salome (Heidelberg: 1972).

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Konstantynów D., ‘Mistrz nasz Matejko i antysemici’, Kwartalnik Historii Żydów, 2 (2007) (p. 222).

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Mendelsohn E., ‘Emunot weHistorija yehudit: Jeszu doresz beKfar Nahum leMoric Gottlieb’, Zion: A Quarterly for Research in Jewish History, 62 (1997).

Mendelsohn E., Painting a People: Maurycy Gottlieb and Jewish Art (Hanover: 2002).

Sandel J., ‘Maurycy Gottlieb – uczeń Matejki’, Biuletyn Żydowskiego Instytutu Historycznego, 4 (1953), p. 8.

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Waldman M., Maurycy Gottlieb 1856–1879. Biografia artystyczna (Kraków: 1932).

Wiesenberg J., Maurycy Gottlieb (1856–1879). Szkic biograficzny (Złoczów: 1888).

Wojciechowski J., ‘Salon sztuk pięknych Ungra w Warszawie’, Tygodnik Ilustrowany, 208 (1879).

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