Self-portrait in Bedouin Attire

Maurycy Gottlieb came from the relatively wealthy family of the owner of a petroleum refinery. After learning in his hometown, Gottlieb studied in Vienna. There, he came in contact with the works of Jan Matejko that awoke a strong feeling of Polishness in him, which in turn made him decide to continue his education in Kraków. Because of the anti-Semitism of his colleagues, he soon returned to Austria’s capital. He came back to Kraków on Matejko’s request to join his school. Not much later Gottlieb abandoned painting after a painful heartbreak. A difficult throat disease and an unsuccessful operation led to Maurycy Gottlieb’s premature death.

Even though Gottlieb’s art is marked by academicism, he is widely admired as a distinguished continuer of the romantic tradition in Polish painting of the late 19th century. He was clearly searching for his own formal language, often referring to Jewish themes (not only Biblical) that were rare in Polish painting.

Self-portrait is based on the photographic portrait of Maurycy Gottlieb. In 1877, Gottlieb participated in a ball in the Vienna Künstlerhaus where he went dressed in Arabic attire. He was photographed in this dress, and this photograph was the impulse to create the portrait. The picture in Arabic clothing reflects the fascination with the Orient, typical at that time.

The works of Maurycy Gottlieb the can be viewed on the Delet portal.