Isidor Kaufmann

Oscar and Regina Gruss, New York
Thence by descent to the present owner

This painting on panel has probably been fairly recently restored. It is on a piece of mahogany, which is unbroken, flat and stable with no reinforcements on the reverse. The paint layer may be slightly dirty, but one must be extremely cautious in cleaning works by this artist. There are some visible retouches across the top edge, on the left side and on the right side. There is a line of retouches through the left side of the face and hat, comprising of about a dozen small dots. There are a couple of retouches in the lower right background and in the far left background. There are otherwise no retouches. The paint layer is very fresh. Again, it may be slightly dirty, and the retouches could be more accurately applied. The above condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The Kabbalist was one of Kaufmann's most popular subjects. He painted several versions of this particular young Rabbi, with his serious and penetrating gaze, which vary slightly from one to the other. One of the portraits, bearing the title Der Kabbalist, was reproduced in 1925 in the Isidor Kaufmann Portfolio, edited by Hermann Menkes and published in Vienna. This portfolio contained sixteen of Kaufmann's most famous and beloved subjects.

As seen in the photograph below, The Kabbalist comes from the celebrated collection of Oscar and Regina Gruss. Having narrowly escaped the Holocaust, the Gruss’s dedicated themselves after the war to building the finest collection of works by Jewish artists, particularly a group of “stunningly virtuosic works by Kaufmann and the historically significantly suite of paintings of Jewish life by Oppenheim” (Norman L. Kleeblatt in The Emergence of Jewish Artists in Nineteenth-Century Europe, exhibition catalogue, The Jewish Museum, November 2001–March 2002, p. 10).