Forgotten Jewish painters: Rudolf Levy

A nostalgic portrait of a boy, traced with various nuances of blue. It is hard to avoid the sight of beauty and loneliness uttered by this figure, with the black holes as eyes, like those of a specter from a different world, not ours. But it could be one of the shadows of humans that were hunted, killed, followed and condemned to death in the cultured Europe. The author of this emotional work that I admired at the Pomeranian Museum in Greifswald, is Rudolf Levy, himself running across Europe to escape the Nazi hunters but ended up dying on the way to Auschwitz, after being caught by the Nazi occupiers of Florence.

The story of Rudolf Levy is of many German Jewish intellectuals of the time. Considered one of the 'pioneers of modern art movement', he was born in Stettin and studied in Baden, at the Grand Ducal School of Decorative and Applied Arts and after that, in Munich. He later moved to study with Henri Matisse, and the French painters, particularly Cezanne, played a big influence on his art. His love for France wasn't as big as his dedication to Germany though. During WWI, he volunteered for the front and fought for Germany against France. For his war achievements, he, as many other Jewish warriors on behalf of Germany, received the Iron Cross. 

After the war, he moved to Berlin, where he belonged to the German Secession movement. He was also on the board of directors and member of the jury of the Berlin Secession.

In 1933, he decided to flee Berlin to Paris, but once the Nazis approached Paris, he moved on to Italy, and Florence. During his wandering years, he continued to work, many portraits, mostly on commission, as well as still art. His paintings were owned by many German museums, but after 1937, his works were took off and probably ended up in the houses of many high ranking officials of the Nazi party. 

From his family, his brother, Paul, a railroads engineer, was also murdered at Auschwitz. His sister, Käthe, survived and moved to Tel Aviv, where she died in the 1950s. 

His works can still be found in some German museum - as it was the case in Greifswald, or auctioned by big houses in Europe or USA. 

A mysterious artist, Issai Kulvianski

'My parents shtetl'

The information about the work and life of Issai Kulvianski is not easy to find. After a couple of research and documentation, I still cannot say that I know 35% of his story. 

He appears under different names: either Izaijas Kulvianski or Isaja Kulwianski. He was born in Jonova, Lithuania, in 1892. He studied first sculpture at the Vilnius Art School and later at Berlin, in 1912, at the Berlin Academy of Art. Later, he went to Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, where he got in touch and eventually was influenced by Soutine and Chagall. Before the WWI, when he served in the Russian Army, he was member of the semi-anarchist group in Berlin 'Novembergruppe', together with, among others, El Lissitzky. 

In 1933, he moved to the then Palestine, where for around 17 years was a teacher of arts at a school he created. One of his paintings of that time of the Tel Aviv beaches  continue to be an appreciated presence in the auction houses. The next stage of his life was of a permanent travel, especially in Europe. His stops included Nurenberg, Oudeuil/Oise, Val de Mercy/Yonne before establishing in London, where he spent the rest of his life.
His works are strongly influenced by the neo-realism, one of his inspiration being the German painter Lovis Corinth.
Many of his works can be found either in different auction houses in Europe or in museums and galleries.