HOROVITZ, LEOPOLD

HOROVITZ, LEOPOLD (1838–1917), Hungarian painter. Horovitz was born in Slovakia and studied in Vienna. After living in Berlin, Dresden, and Munich, he arrived in Paris, where his portraits and genre scenes met with success. His sitters included the emperor of Austria, Francis Joseph, and the Danish essayist, georg brandes , as well as Hungarian and Polish magnates and the fashionably dressed ladies of high society. Meticulous in his technique, he used natural poses and simple backgrounds. He displayed great virtuosity, charm, and refinement. He showed no interest in the aims of more progressive artists such as the Impressionists, who belonged to his generation. Though he received many prizes and commanded high fees for his portrait commissions, he might have been completely forgotten, were it not for his scenes from East European Jewish life. Notable among these works is The Ninth of Av, a large picture upon which Horovitz worked for a year and a half. This picture reveals a solid construction and an astonishing power of differentiating between the subtle moods and the less subtle gestures of the figures. (Alfred Werner)