Here is a fantastic art review (ok, notice) in the Archives israélites de France from 1844 (pg. 346). It concerns an exhibit in the Louvre:
"Regarding art, we have visited the painting exhibition at the Louvre and we noticed the following pieces by our coreligionists: # 818, Goldschmidt 928 the Sybil of Cumae, 929: Simon Hertz Offering to the Virgin (oh!) and a Procession to the Corpus Christi (oh! oh!)."
Whatever, that was the art that sold well... like the fake Steiplers that go for Sukka decorations today maybe.
ReplyDeleteGoogle reveals that "Goldschmidt" was Hermann Goldschmidt (1802-1866), a native of Frankfurt-am-Main, who was not only a respected artist but who took up astronomy in middle age and discovered 14 asteroids.
ReplyDeleteI haven't found anything more on Simon Hertz, but I did turn up a comment in the British "Voice of Israel" (August 1, 1844) referring to the art notice in the Archives israélites: "We fully join in Ben Levi's 'oh!'. This sort of liberalism is any thing but gratifying to us."
Hertz was also from Frankfurt, and named (French version) Simon-Georges Herz. Found that in a catalog from the era. Nothing on the man though, unless he is somehow secretly Simon Saint-Jean who also painted one called Offrande à la Vierge, in the same time frame (1842ish).
DeleteGrunk -- what are "fake Steiplers"? Pictures which don't actually represent Rav Y.Y. Kanayevski, but rather someone else (or perhaps nobody real at all)?
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