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Hermann HirschBest of Europe:The Roman Girl Sensitive Portrait of a Young Woman Italy1905
1905
About the Item
Born into difficult times, the life of German Jewish artist Hermann Hirsch was not filled with peace or abundance. However, I believe at least while he was painting this "Roman Girl" he was relaxed and at ease. It is such a serene image: there is quiet, thoughtful joy in her face.
Hermann Hirsch's artistic career began with an apprenticeship in Düsseldorf with Richard Brend'amour, a wood sculptor and engraver. From 1881 to 1885, he was a student at the Prussian Academy of Arts in Berlin. During that time, he obtained a membership of the Berlin Artists' Association, which he maintained until 1914.
He attended the Düsseldorf art academy for one semester in 1886, but was forced to leave before completing his studies, due to lack of resources"
He was a regular participant in the important Berliner Kunstausstellung (Berlin Art Exhibition) from 1893 to 1914, but his works received little public recognition. He travelled widely, visiting visiting Switzerland, Greece and Capri, with prolonged sojourns in Rome, where he became a member of the Union of German Artists. It was during this time that the painting presented here was created, in 1905.
Hirsch managed to establish a name for himself in the German art world, but the advent of Nazi rule changed everything. By 1933, the situation turned increasingly dire for Hirsch. He was one of 26 Jews in a town of only 670 people. His friends stopped associating with him and hostility towards Jews became commonplace. His niece Sabine related, “Young Nazi bullies surrounded [his] white painted house, threw stones at it, and insulted my uncle with Jewish slurs.” Hirsch’s sisters, nieces, and nephews—who used to frequent his house in the summers—emigrated to South Africa, Italy, and Britain, leaving him feeling further isolated.
In the following months, he left his house in Bremke and moved in with a Jewish family in Göttingen. He lived there only a brief time before the oppressiveness of his situation overtook him. He committed suicide and died on March 1, 1934. Dr. Wilhelm Lange wrote in the Göttinger Zeitung “A nice, honest, and pure human spirit passed with him – he broke due to the harshness on his dignity.”
I am grateful to the Virginia Holocaust Museum, which conserves works by the artist and which was the source of much of the information above. The museum of Göttingen provides information on the artist, and organised a major retrospective of Hirsch's work in the 2010s.
Note: there is a second painting on the verso of the picture. Also by Hirsch, it is unsigned and depicts a revolutionary scene.
- Creator:Hermann Hirsch (1864 - 1934, German, Jewish)
- Creation Year:1905
- Dimensions:Height: 28.75 in (73 cm)Width: 23.63 in (60 cm)Depth: 1.58 in (4 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:Light wear to fragile frame.
- Gallery Location:Norwich, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU991312423232
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