MASTERPIECES FROM THE BEN URI COLLECTION
SIMEON SOLOMON (1840-1905)
RENEWAL OF VOWS ON THE SCROLL OF THE LAW
1893
Chalk on paper
Signed and dated (lower left): 'Sim Solomon 1893'
SIMEON SOLOMON
Simeon Solomon’s Renewal of Vows on the Scroll of the Law (1891) is a compelling example of his late devotional work, marked by a profound engagement with Jewish ritual and identity Executed in delicate graphite and wash, the composition depicts two male figures possibly a rabbi and a congregant immersed
in the sacred act of reaffirming commitment to the Torah. The scroll resting before them and the prayer book held by the younger man highlight the centrality of text and learning in Jewish spiritual life. The older figure, clad in a turban and robes, exudes solemn authority, while his companion gazes with reverence and concentration Rendered in a muted chiaroscuro, the scene is infused with a spiritual stillness that recalls the meditative qualities of Renaissance religious art and the symbolic intensity of the Pre-Raphaelite aesthetic Solomon’s refined draftsmanship and sensitivity to gesture reveal his deep investment in Jewish themes, even during a period of personal hardship and social marginalization following his public disgrace in 1873 This work reflects Solomon’s continued exploration of Jewish ceremonial life and the enduring sacredness of tradition, affirming the artist’s role not only as a Pre-Raphaelite innovator but also as a chronicler of Anglo-Jewish heritage. The image becomes both a personal testament and cultural archive
Simeon Solomon was born into a middle-class Jewish family in London, England on 9 October 1840, the youngest of the eight children of Meyer Solomon and Katherine (née Levy), an amateur miniature painter Raised in Bishopsgate, he as tutored by his sister, Rebecca (1832-1886), herself a gifted artist and a regular
RA exhibitor, employed as a copyist and drapery painter by John Everett Millais Simeon also trained at F S Cary’s Academy (1852-56), and in the studio of his elder brother Abraham (1824- 1862), who he followed to the Royal Academy Schools (1856–60) He made his exhibition debut at the Royal Academy in 1858, where he continued to show regularly until 1872 Two years later, his oil painting, Moses (Private Collection, New York), aroused controversy but was defended by the novelist William Makepeace Thackeray. Solomon’s earliest works, mostly on Old Testament subjects, were inspired by Jewish culture and tradition, the bible and Shakespeare Around 1858, he was introduced to Gabriel Rossetti and became a member of the PreRaphaelite circle, later meeting Edward Burne-Jones, John Everett Millais, and William Holman Hunt In 1862 he established his own studio and was influenced by the poet and critic Algernon Charles Swinburne, and the ideals of the Aesthetic movement In the following decade, he regularly exhibited at the progressive Dudley Gallery in London and was elected a member of the Savile Club In 1873, however, Solomon was arrested in a public lavatory, convicted of gross indecency, and sentenced to 18 months imprisonment (subsequently suspended). Following a brief stay in a lunatic asylum and without consistent support, he drifted into alcoholism, living on charity and a meagre living from reproductions of his work, spending years in the St Giles Workhouse, Holborn, in London, where he died of a heart attack on 14 August 1905 Two memorial exhibitions were held in 1906 and in 2005-06 Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery curated the exhibition ‘Love Revealed: Simeon Solomon and the Pre-Raphaelites', the first full-scale survey of his work, which toured to Ben Uri Gallery in London and to Museum Villa Stuck, Munich In 2000 Roberto C Ferrari and Carolyn Conroy established the Simeon Solomon Research Archive devoted to his work and that of his siblings (http://www simeonsolomon com)
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
COLLECTION: https://benuri.org/collections/
BURU: https://www.buru.org.uk/
