- Reuven Rubin
Reuven Rubin (born Reuven Zelicovici;
November 13 ,1893 -October 13 ,1974 ) was aRomania n-bornIsrael i painter and Israel's first diplomatic representative in rank of plenipotentiary minister to Romania.Citation
last = Rosenfeld
first = Jeannie
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title = Demand for Reuven Rubin is rising. So are the prices
newspaper =Haaretz
pages =
year =
date = 2008-04-14
url =http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/974484.html
accessdate=2008-05-31]Biography
Rubin was born in
Galaţi to a poor Romanian JewishHasidic family. He was the eighth of 13 children. In 1912, he left for Ottoman-ruledPalestine to study art atBezalel Academy of Art and Design inJerusalem . Finding himself at odds with the artistic views of the Academy's teachers, he left forParis ,France , in 1913 to pursue his studies at theÉcole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts . At the outbreak ofWorld War I , he was returned to Romania, where he spent the war years.In 1921, he traveled to the
United States with his friend and fellow artist, Arthur Kolnik, with whom he had shared a studio inCernăuţi . InNew York City , the two met artistAlfred Stieglitz , who was instrumental in organizing their first American show at the Anderson Gallery. Following the exhibition, in 1922, they both returned to Europe. In 1923, Rubin emmigrated to Palestine.Rubin met his wife, Esther, in 1928, aboard a passenger ship to Palestine on his return from a show in
New York . She was aBronx girl who had won a trip to Palestine in aYoung Judea competition.Artistic career
In Palestine, he became one of the founders of the new "Eretz-Yisrael" style. Recurring themes in his work were the biblical landscape, folklore and people, including Yemenite, Hasidic Jews and
Arabs . Many of his paintings are sun-bathed depictions of Jerusalem and theGalilee . Rubin was heavily influenced by the work ofHenri Rousseau and sought to fuse Rousseau's style with Eastern nuances, as well as with the neo-Byzantine art to which he had been exposed in his native Romania. In accordance with his integrative style, he signed his works with his first name in Hebrew and his surname in Roman letters.In 1924, he was the first artist to hold a solo exhibition at the
Tower of David , inJerusalem (later exhibited inTel Aviv at Gymnasia Herzliya). That year he was elected chairman of the Association of Painters and Sculptors of Palestine. From the 1920s onwards, Rubin designed backdrops forHabima Theater , the Ohel Theater and other theaters.Diplomatic career
In 1948, he became the first official Israeli diplomatic envoy (minister) to Romania. He served in this position until 1950.
Awards and commemoration
In 1964, he received the Dizengoff Prize, and in 1973 the
Israel Prize for fine arts. His biography, published in 1969, is titled "My Life - My Art". He died in Tel Aviv in October 1974, after having bequeathed his home on 14Bialik Street and a core collection of his paintings to the city of Tel Aviv. TheRubin Museum opened in 1983. The director and curator of the museum is his daughter-in-law, Carmela Rubin.Rubin's paintings are now increasingly sought after. At aSotheby's auction inNew York in 2007, his work accounted for six of the ten top lots.References
External links
* [http://www.rubinmuseum.org.il/ Rubin Museum]
* [http://www.engel-art.co.il/artists.php?act=show&id=1033 Reuven Rubin's Collection at the Engel Gallery]
* [http://www.rubinmuseum.org.il/Catalog_raisonne.asp Reuven Rubin Catalogue Raisonne Project]
* [http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/rubin_reuven.html Rubin at the Art Cyclopaedia]
* [http://www.jhom.com/topics//fish/rubin.html Reuven Rubin's "Goldfish Vendor"] by Carmela Rubin
* [http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/rubin.html Reuven Rubin] from the Jewish Virtual Library
* Webberley, Helen “Landscape Painting in Palestine: Not Just Cezanne with Olive Trees”, 20th Annual Conference, ACJC, Monash University, Feb 17-18th 2008
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