1843 - 1902 MARK ANTOKOLSKI ("Mordechai") (Russia)
A social-sculptor considered by many to be the father of modern Russian sculpture. He first began with Jewish themes. His statue "Ivan the Terrible" (1871) was purchased for the Hermitage Museum by Czar Alexander. Antokolski believed that sculpture was a social and humane ideal. After many anti-Semitic attacks he moved to Paris. He was a traditional Jew who believed that one day there would be a school of Jewish art. This came true with the foundation of the Bezalel Academy by his student Boris Schatz.
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