Ra'anan Levy

Ra'anan Levy was a French-Israeli painter, born in Jerusalem, who lived and worked mostly in France and Italy.

1954 to 2022Painting and works on paper2006 Musée Maillol retrospectiveEugen Kolb Prize

Born: 1 March 1954, Jerusalem
Died: 2 June 2022, 20th arrondissement of Paris
Occupation: painter

Ra'anan Levy was born in 1954 in Jerusalem

Ra'anan Levy was born in Jerusalem on 1 March 1954 to a family of Syrian Jewish origin. His father, Rafael Levy, headed the Jerusalem district at the Interior Ministry. His mother Rina was the daughter of Eliyahu Sasson, a diplomat, Knesset member and government minister.

He painted from childhood and took art classes at the Israel Museum while attending the Rehavia Gymnasium, graduating in 1972. After his army service he studied art in Rome and Florence. He later studied Middle East studies and history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Back in Israel he worked in the restoration department of the Israel Museum and showed his first exhibitions in Jerusalem galleries. He worked for about 20 years with Gordon Gallery. He lived in Amsterdam from 1982 to 1984 and moved to Paris in 1987 on a scholarship.

In 2006 the Musée Maillol held the first retrospective of his work, later shown at museums including the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. He had 2 sons with the painter Roni Barut, among them the journalist Uri Levy. He died in Paris on 2 June 2022 and was buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery.