Isidor Kaufmann

As is frequently the case, this Rabbi appears in several different paintings by Kaufmann. Based on sketches and impressions gathered during his trips in the shtetls of Hungary, Galicia, Ukraine and Poland, Kaufmann would produce different versions of portraits using the same sitter. By changing the closely observed details of clothing and background he achieved strikingly different results. 

As Tobias Natter writes, "Kaufmann painted several portraits of the Hasidic Jew with streimel and red beard...The valuable streimel is trimmed with ...fur..[and] was worn by observant Hasidic Jews throughout the year for Sabbath and religious festivals.  Like many elements of traditional Ashkenazy clothing, it was originally derived from Old Polish male apparel." (Tobias Nattier, Isidor Kaufmann, Vienna, 1995, p. 214)