Isidor Ascheim (variant names Isidor Aschheim, Izidor Aschheim) was a German

Germans

The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....

-born Israeli painter and printmaker

Biography

Ascheim was born in Posen

Poznan

Poznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...

 (Poznań), Prussia

Prussia

Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...

 (present-day Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

) in 1891. He was raised in an Orthodox Jewish

Orthodox Judaism

Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...

 family and served during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. During the years 1919-23, Ascheim studied under the German Expressionist Otto Mueller

Otto Mueller

Otto Mueller or Müller was a German painter and printmaker of the Die Brücke expressionist movement.-Life and work:...

 in Breslau and was influenced by Erich Heckel

Erich Heckel

Erich Heckel was a German painter and printmaker, and a founding member of the Die Brücke group which existed 1905-1913.-Biography:Heckel was born in Döbeln . His parents were born in Saxony...

 of the Die Brücke

Die Brücke

Die Brücke was a group of German expressionist artists formed in Dresden in 1905, after which the Brücke Museum in Berlin was named. Founding members were Fritz Bleyl, Erich Heckel, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff. Later members were Emil Nolde, Max Pechstein and Otto Mueller...

 (The Bridge) group.

Ascheim emigrated to Mandate Palestine in 1940 and settled in Jerusalem. In Israel, Ascheim became an instructor at the renowned Bezalel Academy in Jerusalem, and was appointed its director for a number of years.

He was married to the Israeli painter Margot Lange-Ascheim.

Ascheim "belongs to a generation of artists whose whole repertoire is based on a direct impression of nature, life and the human form. His oeuvre represents a continuous connection with nature and the human figure, usually executed with a dark palette, the legacy of his German Expressionist roots."

Awards

• In 1953, Ascheim was a co-recipient of the Dizengoff Prize
  Dizengoff Prize
  The Dizengoff Prize for Painting and Sculpture is awarded annually by the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality since 1937.The following is a table of Dizengoff Prize laureates in their respective art form:...
  
   for Painting.
• In 1955, he received the Jerusalem Prize
  Jerusalem Prize
  The Jerusalem Prize for the Freedom of the Individual in Society is a biennial literary award given to writers whose works have dealt with themes of human freedom in society. It is awarded at the Jerusalem International Book Fair, and the recipient usually delivers an address when accepting the award...
  
   for Art.
• In 1956, he participated in the Venice Biennale
  Venice Biennale
  The Venice Biennale is a major contemporary art exhibition that takes place once every two years in Venice, Italy. The Venice Film Festival is part of it. So too is the Venice Biennale of Architecture, which is held in even years...
  
  .

Further reading

• Isidor Aschheim: Drawings & Prints [Izidor Ashhaim: rishumim ve-hedpesim]. Jerusalem: Israel Museum, 1966.
• Talpir, Gabriel. 100 Artists in Israel. Tel-Aviv: Gazith Art Publishing, 1971.

External links

• Israeli Art Centre (Israel Museum, Jerusalem - Isidor Ascheim)
• Artnet.com (Isidor Aschheim)