Liberation and Creativity: Jewish Artists and Philanthropists in Rome between 1870 – 1938

Accompanying programme of the exhibition Max Liebermann. An Impressionist from Berlin

Speaker: Laurie Kalb Cosmo (Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society), in cooperation with KNIR (Koninklijk Nederlands Instituut Rome)
Moderation: Alice Cazzola, curator of the exhibition Max Liebermann. An Impressionist from Berlin

The brief period of late 19^th/early 20^th century Jewish emancipation in Rome, between the demolition of the former ghetto in 1870 and the fascist establishment of racial laws in 1938, coincided with a profound period of artistic experimentation throughout Europe, including Italy. In Rome, Jews participated vigorously in a range of new artistic movements, cultural practices, philanthropy and institution building. A number of these art world members — artists, scholars, art dealers and philanthropists — came from Rome, while others arrived from elsewhere in Italy or foreign countries. Some settled permanently in Rome while others passed through, like Max Liebermann. Exploring case studies of Jewish art world participation in Rome during the brief period of emancipation in the late 19^th/early 20^th century, this presentation considers the enormous cultural contributions made by Jews, and how and if religion and religious identity informed their activities. Nationalist fervor in post-Risorgimento Italy, cosmopolitan affection for Italian artistic patrimony, and more personal motivations for making and supporting art motivated Jewish artists and philanthropists. They varied in the attention paid to Judaism in their works, though this freedom of choice lasted only until their status as members of a religious minority became tragically relevant in all cases.

Dr. Laurie Kalb Cosmo is an American art historian and curator and member of the art history faculty at Leiden University in the Netherlands. She is currently a Museum Fellow at the Royal Dutch Institute in Rome (KNIR), Italy, where she previously taught art history at Temple University Rome and consulted with Italian museums. Laurie has been a curator and administrator at museums in the United States, including Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Craft and Folk Art Museum Los Angeles and Peabody Essex Museum, and a Research Associate at Peabody Museum at Harvard University. Her research interests include museum history and theory, modernism, art and politics in Europe, Italian Jewish art history, and 20^th century decorative and applied arts. The recipient of a Dutch Governmental research grant for a Museum Lab, a Fulbright grant in Malaysia, and Smithsonian Institution dissertation fellowship, Dr. Kalb has consulted for the United Nations Development Programme and is a published author of museum catalogues and book articles. She is a an advisory board member of the Besa Museum Foundation in Tirana, Albania and has served on the boards of the ICOM International Committee on Museums of Ethnography (ICME) and the Beth Hillel Progressive Jewish Community of Rome. She earned her Ph.D. and M.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and B.A. from Vassar College.

With the kind support of

Illustrations:

Portrait of Eduard Arnhold (1849-1925), 1907-1919, by Max Liebermann. (Eduard Arnhold was the founder of the Deutsche Akademie Rom Villa Massimo).

The original right arm of the Laocoon and his sons, discovered in 1906 by Archaeologist, Art Dealer and Museum Director Ludwig Pollak (1868-1943 Auschwitz)

Ritratto dei genitori (Virginia Mieli ed Ernesto Nathan)/Portrait of her parents (Virginia Mieli and Ernesto Nathan), 1915, by Annie Nathan (1878 Rome -1946 Switzerland)

Adolescente/Adolescent, 1928, by Antonietta Raphaël (1898 Kovno, Lithuania -1975 Rome)

La Corsa dei Barberi/The Race of the Barbarians, 1935, pittura murale, by Corrado Cagli (1910 Ancona – 1976 Roma)