PROPERTY FROM THE ESTATE OF GENERAL MORRIS TROPER














Isidor Kaufmann (Austrian, 1854-1921)


A portrait of a Hassidic Talmud student signed 'Isidor Kaufmann' (lower right)oil on panel15 x 12 3/4in (38 x 32.4cm)
|ProvenanceGeneral Morris Carlton Troper, Carmel, California (probably acquired in New York, late 1940s);Bequeathed to his daughter, Betty Troper Yager (1962);Thence by descent to the present owner.Born into a non-religious Jewish family, Isidor Kaufmann began exploring Jewish subject matter around 1895. He represented Jewish men in prayer, at study or in the synagogue, and Jewish women in interiors preparing festive meals. These every day subjects were extremely popular with the rich bourgeoisie of Vienna and even with Emperor Franz Josef, who purchased The Rabbi's Visit, now in the Vienna Museum of Art.The young man in the present painting is depicted sitting in front of a Torah curtain that is decorated with an embroidered Torah verse at the top edge, flanked by floral garlands. He is wearing a fur spodek and a prayer shawl draped around his shoulders. Both items are attributes that were worn by married men.