Jerusalem Landscape; 1946 Oil on Canvas, 73×50 cm
Ludwig Bloom
Ludwig Bloom was born in 1891 in Moravia, Austro-Hungarian Empire. In his youth he was one of the founders of the Maccabi Youth Movement in the Czech Republic. He studied painting in Prague, Paris and Amsterdam. In 1923 he immigrated to Palestine and settled in Jerusalem. He conducted “painting expeditions” to Iran and Iraq, and painted portraits of important Historical figures, such as: King Abdullah and Flinders Petrie – the father of Modern Archaeology,

In 1924 he married Dina Meir and they had a daughter and a son. Their son, Eliyahu, died in battle in 1946. After his death, Bloom dedicated his works to his son’s memory. The couple never left Jerusalem and despite their age volunteered in the “Hagana” and in the Civil Guard. During Bloom’s patrolling shifts he used to draw portraits of soldiers. Part of these drawings transformed into oil or aquarelle paintings. During the First Arab-Israeli War he painted the portrait of Moshe Dayan – a Lieutenant Colonel at the time. The portrait was later given to Dayan himself, and after his death it was donated to the Palmach Museum. Bloom was one of the founders of The Jeruslaem Artists House. He was also the head of the Artist Association in Jerusalem, and in 1968 he received a Medal of Appreciation.