"Samson and Delilah," Max Liebermann, 1902.

Liebermann (1847-1935) was a brilliant artist at a horrible time. He was a leading proponent of German Impressionism, was a leader of the Berlin Secession, an influential avant-garde art movement, but late in life, at the height of his artistic power, his work was dropped by major galleries because he was Jewish, and later all work by Jewish artists was banned.

He died of natural causes, but his paintings, as well as his personal collection, were looted by the Nazis. Liebermann's heirs are still struggling to reclaim his property.

This version of the story is interesting; Liebermann presents it as a modern battle of the sexes, without reference to any sort of Biblical setting.

From the Städel Museum, Frankfurt.

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"The Sunflower," Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita, 1914.

A Dutch graphic artist who taught Escher and others, de Mesquita, a Sephardic Jew, was murdered in Auschwitz. He is sadly almost forgotten today and deserves attention.

From a private collection.

#Art #JewishArtists #Holocaust #LetUsRemember

"Orchard," Symche Trachter, c. 1928.

An idyllic image, but the artist's life ended tragically. He was born into a wealthy Jewish family in Lublin, studied art, and was exhibited regularly in Warsaw. When WWII came, he was interned in the Warsaw ghetto, and was later murdered in Treblinka.

From the Jewish Historical Institute, Warsaw.

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