Art and designמרדכי פרבמן

Max (Mordechai) Farbmann

Mordechai (Max) Farbmann was a Jewish sculptor born in Salakas, Lithuania, who worked in Vienna and later in Tel Aviv.

1886 to 1950Portrait busts of European figuresThe Lithuanian Independence MonumentSculpture in Vienna and Tel Aviv

Born: 1 April 1886, Salakas
Died: 20 April 1950, Israel
Occupation: sculptor

Max (Mordechai) Farbmann was born in 1886 in Salakas

Farbmann was born on 1 April 1886 in Salakas, then part of the Russian Empire and today in Lithuania. As a young man he moved to Vienna to study sculpture.

In 1917 and 1918 he studied art in Vienna with Josef Müllner and Professor Hellmer. He then worked in the city as a sculptor, and the Vienna Arts Academy bought one of his works.

He made portrait busts of European public figures. In 1924 the city of Vienna asked him to portray Mayor Karl Seitz and the writer Karl Kraus. He also designed the Lithuanian Independence Monument, put up in his hometown in 1930, and worked in bronze, wood, stone and ivory.

In 1933 he settled in Tel Aviv at the invitation of the city's mayor. A shipment with many of his sculptures was lost on the way. He kept sculpting, turned more to Jewish themes, and taught art.

He died on 20 April 1950 and was buried in the Nahalat Yitzhak cemetery. His works are held in museums in Israel and Austria, including the Israel Museum.