Simeon Solomon

Simeon Solomon

Simeon Solomon (b. October 9, 1840 in London, England – d. August 14, 1905 in St. Giles's Workhouse) was an English Pre-Raphaelite painter.

Biography

Solomon was born into a prominent Jewish family. He was the eighth and last child born to prominent merchant Michael (Meyer) Solomon and artist Catherine (Kate) Levy. Solomon was a younger brother to fellow painters Abraham Solomon (1824–1862) and Rebecca Solomon (1832–1886).

Born and educated in London, Solomon started receiving lessons in painting from his older brother around 1850. He started attending Carey's Art Academy in 1852. His older sister first exhibited her works at the Royal Academy during the same year.

As a student at the Royal Academy Schools, Solomon was introduced through Dante Gabriel Rossetti to other members of the Pre-Raphaelite circle, including the poet Algernon Charles Swinburne and the painter Edward Burne-Jones in 1857. His first exhibition was at the Royal Academy in 1858. He continued to hold exhibitions of his work at the Royal Academy between 1858 and 1872. In addition to the literary paintings favoured by the Pre-Raphaelite school, Solomon's subjects often included scenes from the Hebrew Bible and genre paintings depicting Jewish life and rituals.

Solomon lived as an openly gay man in a time when it was not socially acceptable to do so,citation |last=Lockard |first=Ray Anne |url=http://www.glbtq.com/arts/solomon_s.html |title=Solomon, Simeon |year=2002 |periodical=glbtq.com |accessdate=2007-09-19] but in 1873 his career was cut short when he was arrested in a public urinal at Stratford Place Mews, off Oxford Street, in London and charged with indecent exposure and attempting to commit sodomy. He was sentenced to serve eighteen months' hard labour in prison, but this was later reduced to police supervision. He was arrested again in 1874 in Paris, after which he was sentenced to spend three months in prison.

In 1884 he was admitted to the workhouse where he continued to produce work; however, his life and talent were blighted by alcoholism. Twenty years later in 1905, he died from complications brought on by his alcoholism. He was buried at the Jewish Cemetery in Willesden.

Examples of his work are on permanent display at the Victoria and Albert Museum and at Leighton House. In December 2005/January 2006, there was an important retrospective of his work, held at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, and in London at the Ben Uri Gallery in October / November 2006.

Popular Culture

In Anthony Powell's novel "A Buyer's Market" (book 2 in "A Dance to the Music of Time"), the narrator says of the artist Mr. Deacon that Solomon was one of the few painters he admired.

In Oscar Wilde's long prison letter to Lord Alfred Douglas, De Profundis, Wilde writes of his bankruptcy: “That all my charming things were to be sold: my Burne-Jones drawings: my Whistler drawings: my Monticelli: my Simeon Solomons: my china: my Library…”

Bibliography

*Colin Cruise et al (ed) "Love Revealed: Simeon Solomon and the Pre-Raphaelites": London: Merrett/Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery: 2005: ISBN 1-85894-311-6

ee also

*List of Pre-Raphaelite paintings - including the works of Simeon Solomon.

References

External links

* [http://www.simeonsolomon.org/ Simeon Solomon Research Archive]
* [http://www.carolynconroy.co.uk/arthistory.aspx PhD thesis in progress on Solomon's life after 1873]
* [http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,1586365,00.html "Fallen angel"] - article by Neil Bartlett from "The Guardian", October 7, 2005.
* [http://www.speel.demon.co.uk/artists2/solomona.htm A profile of his brother Abraham]
* [http://www.speel.demon.co.uk/artists2/solomonr.htm A profile of his sister Rebecca]
* [http://www.mmkaylor.com Michael Matthew Kaylor, "Secreted Desires: The Major Uranians: Hopkins, Pater and Wilde" (2006)] , a 500-page scholarly volume that considers the prominent Victorian writers of Uranian poetry and prose, as well as several artists such as Solomon (the author has made this volume available in a free, open-access, PDF version).


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  • Simeon Solomon — (* 9. Oktober 1840 in London; † 4. August 1905 in St. Giles s Workhouse) war ein britischer präraffaelitischer Maler. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Leben und Werk 2 Werke 3 Literatur …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Simeon Solomon — Una fotografía de David Wilkie Wynfield de Solomon vestido con un traje oriental. Simeon Solomon nació el 9 de octubre de 1840 en Londres y falleció el 14 de agosto de 1905 en St Gile´s Workhouse. Fue un pintor prerrafaelista inglés …   Wikipedia Español

  • Simeon Solomon — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Solomon. Portrait en costume oriental Simeon Solomon (9 octobre …   Wikipédia en Français

  • SOLOMON, SIMEON — (1840–1905), British artist. Born in London, he was the son of Michael Solomon, a prosperous hat importer and the second Jew to be made a freeman of the city of London. The young Simeon was encouraged by his brother, Abraham Solomon (1823–1862),… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Solomon (disambiguation) — Solomon is the English name derived from the Hebrew Shlomo שלמה related to the word shalom ( peace ), [cite book last = Kaplan first = Aryeh title = The Bahir url = http://books.google.com/books?id=M1WZoPno LoC pg=PA130 lpg=PA130… …   Wikipedia

  • Solomon (Name) — Solomon (hebräisch ‏שְׁלֹמֹה‎) ist ein männlicher Vorname[1] und Familienname. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Herkunft und Bedeutung 2 Bekannte Namensträger …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Solomon Joseph Solomon — Solomon Joseph Solomon, RA, (September 16, 1860, London July 27, 1927, Birchington) was a British Pre Raphaelite painter, of no relation to Simeon Solomon.cite web|url=http://www.phryne.com/artists/89 00 48.HTM|title= Phyrne Solomon Joseph… …   Wikipedia

  • Solomon — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Cet article possède un paronyme, voir : Salomon. Somma …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Solomon Passy — Solomon Pasi Solomon Isaak Pasi (bulgarisch Соломон Исак Паси; * 22. Dezember 1956 in Plowdiw) ist ein bulgarischer, NDSW Politiker, ehemaliger bulgarischer Außenminister, sowie Doktor der Mathematik. Weiter ist er seit 8 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • SIMEON — (Heb. שִׁמְעוֹן), the second son of Jacob and Leah (Gen. 29:33) and the eponymous ancestor of the tribe of Simeon. The name is formed from the verb shʿm (שמע) with the addition of the suffix on (וֹן), and was given by Leah to her son because the… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

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