Ludwig Blum (Brno, 1891 - Jerusalem, 1974)

Ludwig Blum (Brno, 1891 - Jerusalem, 1974) View of Jerusalem Oil on canvas. Signed and dated in 1957. 60 x 100 cm. Ludwig Blum was a prominent painter known as 'the painter of Jerusalem'. He studied art at the Royal Academy in Vienna and later in Amsterdam, Paris, London and Madrid, before emigrating to Palestine in 1923 and settling in Jerusalem, where he co-founded the first Artists' House in 1949. Years earlier, in 1933, he received an award from the Royal Academy of Arts in London. Blum's works are divided into four periods: the first focuses on the search for his own style, the second includes portraits, landscapes and still lifes executed in a dry and naturalistic manner, the third depicts combatants during the War of Independence and the fourth includes views of the entire country after the establishment of the State. In 1968 he received the honorary award 'Yakir Yerushalayim' for his artistic contribution to the city. This is an award given annually by the Jerusalem municipality to citizens who have made an outstanding contribution to the cultural and educational life of the city. In 2011, Blum's work was exhibited at the Museum of Biblical Art (MOBIA) in Manhattan. Our work is a magnificent example of what is most representative of Blum's corpus: the views of the city that welcomed him, for which he became world renowned.