Geskel Saloman

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Geskel Saloman before 1902

Geskel Saloman , until 1850 Salomon , (born April 1, 1821 in Tondern , † July 5, 1902 in Båstad ) was a painter.

Live and act

Soloman's painting “Emigrants on their way to Gothenburg” from 1872
Saloman in the studio (1901)

Salomon was a son of Isak Salomon (* 1781 in Frankfurt an der Oder ; † July 4, 1848 in Copenhagen ) and his first wife Feilchen, née Geskel (* 1787, † May 4, 1835 in Copenhagen). The father worked from 1832 as cantor of the Jewish community in Copenhagen. The maternal grandfather named Geskel Joseph († before 1803) worked as a butcher in Friedrichstadt and was married to Jette Geskel (1759–1843). Saloman had two brothers: Siegfried Saloman was a well-known composer and violinist. The brother Nota Saloman (* March 21, 1823, † March 20, 1885) worked as a medical officer in the Danish army.

Saloman first lived in Tondern. A student from the teachers' college gave him and his brothers private lessons here. His father taught him the Hebrew language and German grammar. As a child gifted in drawing and music, he and his brother Siegfried were taught the violin by the town musician Christian Semler. Soloman's father had to close his shop in Tønder and moved the family to Copenhagen, where he got a job at the new synagogue, which had not yet been completed. Geseke Saloman attended Mendel Levin Nathanson's free school for Jewish boys and, from 1834, the Royal Danish Art Academy . During this time he taught himself, wrote or sang in the synagogue and at funeral services. The money he earned was used to support his family.

Saloman studied at the Copenhagen Academy with David Monies , Johann Ludwig Lund and Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg . In 1843 he received his first exhibition at the academy. In 1846 he was awarded a small silver medal. In 1849 he won a prize with a portrait. During these years he especially created portraits in the form of paintings or lithographs. In addition, he painted genre pictures.

In September 1850 Saloman traveled to Gothenburg because of the wedding of his brother Siegfried. It was here that he received many orders for portraits of wealthy Jewish citizens. A little later he also received inquiries from the surrounding area. Saloman therefore stayed in Sweden and changed his surname. He probably did this to avoid confusion with a family living in Gothenburg. With financial support from his future father-in-law, Salomon traveled to Paris in the spring of 1854. Here he learned from Thomas Couture and improved his skills in the loose application of colors and outdoor painting. Couture recommended that he deviate from the Biedermeier form of representation he had learned in Denmark and incorporate pathetic and socially critical elements. Following the advice of his teacher, Saloman created the “News from the Crimea” in 1855 and in 1857 the “Weaving fisher widow, looking at her sleeping child”. His best-known pictures in the same style, “Emigrants on their way to Gothenburg” and “The homecoming of the winners”, were only created in 1868 and 1872.

Saloman married Ida Göthilda Jacobsen on April 12, 1855 in Gothenburg (born November 23, 1828 in Gothenburg; † November 25, 1863 there). Her father Morris Jacobson (1800–1870) worked as a banker in Gothenburg and was married to Rachel, née Magnus (1805–1838). The Saloman couple had three daughters and a son who died as a child. After the marriage, Saloman lived in rural Paris for a few months. In October he traveled back to Gothenburg, where Bedřich Smetana organized the musical life with the "Harmonious Society", which he directed. Saloman was better acquainted with this and captured him in a portrait in 1859. In addition, he performed as a soloist, for example at a concert by the oratorio Elias .

Soloman's wife developed tuberculosis . The couple therefore went to Switzerland in 1880 and then to Algiers for almost two years. During this trip the painter created the "Chicken Offering in Algiers" in 1864, of which he made several versions. The artist captured the picturesque folk life. He worked similarly in Sweden, where he painted motifs from the provinces.

After his stay in France, Saloman returned to Gothenburg, where he became a board member of the local art association. In 1856 he implemented a resolution according to which the association's income should be used in part to set up its own collections. This later resulted in Göteborgs konstmuseum . In 1865 Saloman set up a private drawing school. Also in 1865 he took over the management of a public drawing school. He wrote a textbook for this educational institution.

Saloman was a member of the Stockholm Art Academy from 1868 . In the following year he organized a meeting of painting and drawing teachers from Scandinavia. A large exhibition took place in this context. At the beginning of 1871 he moved to the Swedish capital. The art academy appointed him vice professor in 1874 and full professor six years later. From 1876 he was also a royal portrait painter. He reached the peak of his official reputation in 1882. In that year he was allowed to represent the middle classes of Stockholm and Skåne at the silver wedding of King Oscar II . He gave the king his "homecoming of the victors".

In the later years of his life, Saloman dealt extensively with the iconological interpretation of works of art from antiquity. He repeatedly dealt with the Venus de Milo and its additions. In 1890 he traveled to Italy, where, due to the shifted interests, he primarily devoted himself to archeology and not to painting. Only towards the end of his life did he often paint Jewish motifs. In 1897 he captured his parents' house in Tondern in the picture "Blessing of the Sabbath Lights".

Saloman, who died in 1902, was buried in Stockholm.

literature

Web links

Commons : Geskel Saloman  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jul. Petersen: Saloman, Nota . In: Carl Frederik Bricka (Ed.): Dansk biografisk Lexikon. Tillige omfattende Norge for Tidsrummet 1537-1814. 1st edition. tape 14 : Resen – Saxtrup . Gyldendalske Boghandels Forlag, Copenhagen 1900, p. 577-578 (Danish, runeberg.org ).
  2. ↑ a b Dieter Lohmeier: Saloman, Geskel. In: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck. Volume 10. Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster 1994, p. 320.
  3. ↑ a b c Dieter Lohmeier: Saloman, Geskel. In: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck. Volume 10. Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster 1994, p. 321.
  4. ^ Dieter Lohmeier: Saloman, Geskel. In: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck. Volume 10. Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster 1994, pp. 320-321.
  5. ^ Dieter Lohmeier: Saloman, Geskel. In: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck. Volume 10. Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster 1994, pp. 321-322.
  6. ↑ a b c Dieter Lohmeier: Saloman, Geskel. In: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck. Volume 10. Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster 1994, p. 322.
personal data
SURNAME Saloman, Geskel
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Salomon, Geskel
BRIEF DESCRIPTION painter
DATE OF BIRTH April 1, 1821
PLACE OF BIRTH Tondern
DATE OF DEATH July 5, 1902
Place of death Båstad