Moshe Maimon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Not to be confused with Moshe ben Maimon.

Photo of Moshe Maimon

Moshe Maimon (also Moses Lvovich Maimon; Russian: Моисей Львович Маймон; 1860 – 1924) was a Jewish - Russian painter who was born in Belarus, then part of the Russian Empire. He was among the first known artists within the Jewish community of Russia. Grandson of author Alexander Ziskind Maimon.

Maimon was born in Volkovisk (today part of Belarus). He was apprenticed as a clockmaker in his youth and studied painting in Vilnuis and Warsaw. In 1880 he was admitted to the Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg. His admission was based on his painting of the Marranos, for which he was awarded with a gold medal. Maimon graduated from the academy in 1883. In later years he was a member of the "Society for the Encouragement of Jewish Arts", which was established in St. Peterburg in 1916.

Apart from Maimon's breakthrough for Jewish artists in his time, his work concerned biblical tales and the history of the Jewish people. Among his familiar works are: "The Marranos", "The Hashmonaim","The Inquisition" (1893), "Back in the Homeland", "After the Pogrom", "The Battle in the Mountains of Turenchin" (1906) and series of paintings devoted to biblical figures. Maimon researched the background of his paintings. In his preparation for "The Marranos" he travelled to Spain to collect details of information to use.

His work was internationally known at his lifetime. Nine of Maimon's works were shown at the Russian exhibition at the St. Louis World's fair in 1904. Some of his work was shown at the JSEA's exhibition in 1916 - 1917.

Memoirs of Moshe Maimon were printed in the "Jewish Chronicles".

He passed away in 1924 at St. Petersburg.