The Top Ten Most Influential Jewish Painters

Art has changed tremendously over the years and continues to do so today. From simple images to near photographic pieces, from highly romanticized creations to abstract colors thrown onto a canvas, the world of art is in a state of constant flux. Although all artists are important and help shape the artistic movements to come, some are certainly more influential than others. So sit back and appreciate as we at Shalom Life count down the ten most influential Jewish painters.

10.

The Return of the Jewish Volunteer from the Wars of Liberation to His Family Still Living According to Old Customs (1833-34)

Moritz Daniel Oppenheim

Born in 1800, in Hanau, Germany, Oppenheim was one of the great painters, and printmakers of his day. He was one of the first artists to be quite outspoken about his Jewish heritage, while also having tremendous influence on the non-Jewish population. He painted in a realist style, with exquisite attention given to detail, yet the colors and forms his subjects take also lend themselves to romanticism. His works often explored Jewish tradition in the modern world, and interactions between different people.

9.

Annie (1962)

Lucian Freud

Born in December of 1922, Freud was a German-born British painter who is said to be one of the most influential British artists of his time. His paintings were often created using the impasto technique, where an artists will cover the canvas so thickly in paint that the knife strokes and movement of the brush are intentionally visible. He also examined the relationship between artist and subject in often unsettling ways, such as seen in “Benefits Supervisor Sleeping.”

8.

Entrata del villaggio di Voisins (1872)

Camille Pissarro

Born in 1830 in the US Virgin Islands, which were then considered to be the Danish West Indies, Pissarro is one of the best known impressionist and neo-impressionist painters of his generation. Having the opportunity to study with artists such as Gustave Courbet, Pissarro was able to develop his style and transition into neo-impressionism during the second half of his life. He also founded a collection of artists which would help inspire art and creativity. His works include “Bath Road, Chiswick” from 1897 and “Two Women Chatting by the Sea” from 1856.

7.

Sabbath (1919)

Max Weber

A Jewish-American painter, Weber was born in 1881 in Russian and emigrated to Brooklyn with his Jewish Orthodox parents when he was roughly ten years old. He’s considered to be one of the first American cubist painters who helped bring the movement to the US. Despite this, his paintings such as “The Cellist” were mercilessly critiqued during his lifetime, despite its significance and importance to the abstract and cubist movement. His work did eventually find success, making its way into galleries. He also began to paint Jewish themes in his work towards the end of his career.

6.

House at Falling Water, (1936-1968)

Peter Blume

An American Dali, Blume was an abstract, surrealist, cubist, and purism painter. Born in 1906, Blume’s work was filled with bright colors, contrasting shapes, and unsettling imagery such as in his piece “The Rock.” His paintings also had an element of folk art to them, and explored the idea of construction and deconstruction in his works. Before painting, Blume drew and sold his cartoons, he even explored sculpting, before eventually pursuing a career in painting.

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