Who was Joseph Jacob Isaacson born in the Netherlands 4/20/1859 died
at Auschwitz 12/15/1942.

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Request for Question Clarification by scriptor-ga on 07 Jul 2004 09:56 PDT

At the moment, I know hardly more than the fact that Joseph Jacob
Isaacson was a Dutch painter who lived in Paris and wrote one of the
earliest positive reviews of Vincent van Gogh's work. But I hope to
find out more in the library tomorrow.

Scriptor

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Clarification of Question by perigrino-ga on 07 Jul 2004 12:30 PDT

He is listed in the Lexicon of Dutch Painters 1750-1880. (Nederlandse
Beeldende Kunstenaars)

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Request for Question Clarification by scriptor-ga on 08 Jul 2004 09:05 PDT

I did extensive research in the library today, but I did not find out
enough to justify an answer you'd have to pay for. Basically, I
discovered that Joseph Jacob Issacson (also: Isaäcson) was born on the
date you provided in Den Haag, Netherlands. He lived in Paris, where
he was active as an art critic and as an unimportant painter. One book
explicitly called him a "negligible Dutch painter". His only
significant role in art history obviously was to be among the first
ones to write positive reviews on Vincent van Gogh's paintings. Van
Gogh mentions him several times in his letters. Isaacson was a Jew, so
the date and place of his death suggest that he was killed in the
Auschwitz concentration camp.
Some works of J. J. Isaacson can bee viewed on this site of the Jewish
Historical Museum in Amsterdam:
http://www.jhm.nl/jhmbin/wwwopac.exe?DATABASE=col_n&%253=Isaacson,+Joseph+Jacob&LIMIT=25

Maybe one of my colleagues can find more detailed information.

Regards,
Scriptor