Modus: Prace z historii sztuki (16.2016)

the sources of Gottliebs inspiration by pointing out his teachers’ works in Vienna
and in Kraków. The author shows that while in Munich, Gottlieb availed himself
of The History ofjews by Henry Graetz which resulted in his depictions of Jewish
history and traditions. The second source of inspiration for Gottlieb is found in:
Between the Jewish and Christian Worlds: Literary Themes. Here Czekanowska-
-Gutman provides an outstanding analysis of the artists selection of literał motifs,
specifically to his particular interpretation of the subject and transformation into
his visual interpretation. Lastly in, BreakingEstablished Conventions: Biblical Figures,
the author exhaustively examines Gottliebs interpretation of biblical scenes from
the Old and New Testament. Within this narrative she provides excellent interpre-
tation of Maurycy s Self-portrait as an Ahaswer. Czekanowska-Gutman presents
paintings of Biblical heroines explaining with fluent interpretation how Gottliebs
visual representation functions vis-a-vis the personages he paints. The author also
discusses the influence of Orientalism on Gottlieb which, although not new to the
interpretation of Gottliebs works, is important in the context of European Art His-
tory at this time and in the contemporary discourse of Jewish identity.
Czekanowska-Gutman ends her expose with an analysis of Christ Preaching at
Capernaum (1878-1879) and Christ before His Judges (1877-1879) pointing to the
influence of Graetzs representation of Christ as a Jew. The author remarks that
prior to Gottlieb it was Marek Antokolski15 who first rendered Christ with Jewish
characteristics. Czekanowska-Gutman has a profound knowledge of Gottliebs work
and includes information about the location (known or unknown) for each of the
works she discusses.
The last entry, Maurycy Gottlieb: a Jewish Artist? by Ezra Mendelsohn, is an
enlightening essay for a Polish reader who is not familiar with Mendelsohns book:
Painting a People: Maurycy Gottlieb and Jewish Art (Brandeis, 2002). Mendelsohn
starts answering the ąuestion by discussing the definition of Jewish art and Jewish
identity within an art historical context.16 He emphasizes that Gottliebs Jewish
identity evidenced by his chosen subjects, was caused by the anti-Semitic attitudes
of Polish colleagues. The author explains Gottliebs status in the community of Eu-
ropean Jewish artists, his predecessors and contemporaries, however this discourse
needs morę elaboration.17 Important information about the artists Jewish benefac-
tors and Jewish reception by the art critics, specifically in Jewish press is covered
in this essay. However, for a deeper understanding of the artists Jewish identity, an
explanation of the nuances of Gottliebs first name with its yariation in languages
used in Eastern Galicia would have been helpful.
After these essays the authors of Maurycy Gottlieb. In the Search of Identity
include a section titled: Works where all the exhibited paintings and drawings are
15 Z. Amishai-Maisels, Origins of Jewish Jesus, in: Complex Identities: Jewish Consciousness and
Modern Art, eds. M. Baigell, M. Heyd, Rutgers 2001.
16 On defining Jewish art see: J. Gutman, Is There a Jewish Art, in: The Visual Dimension: Aspects
of Jewish Art, Westview Press 1993; F. Landsberger, The Problem of Jewish Art, in: A History of
Jewish Art, Cincinnati 1946; H. Rosenberg, Is there a Jewish Art?, in: Jewish Text in the Visual
Arts, ed. V. Mann, Cambridge 2000.
17 Publications undertaking this subject: Jewish Identities in Modern Art History, ed. C. Souss-
loff, University of California Press 1999; The Emergence of Jewish Artists in Nineteen Century
Europę, ed. S. Tumarkin Goodman, Merrell and the Jewish Museum 2001; Complex Identities:
Jewish Consciousness and Modern Art; Jewish Art: A Modern History, eds. S. Baskind, L. Silver,
Reaktion Books 2011.

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RECENZJE I OMÓWIENIA

Agnieszka Yass-Aiston