Paul Levi (Framer)
Encyclopedia
Paul Levi was a renowned and influential picture framer and connoisseur.
on 22 August 1919, the only son of the mathematician Friedrich Levi
. In 1935 his father, who was of Jewish ancestry, was prevented from teaching in Germany
and left for India
. Levi was sent to Blundell's School
in Devon
where he developed his interest in carving and architecture, winning a BBC
schools' prize for sculpture.
As a German national Levi was interned on the Isle of Man
following the German invasion of the Netherlands
in 1940. Whilst interned he became friendly with others in the same situation, including Johannes Wilde (later deputy director of the Courtauld Institute), Max Perutz
(the molecular biologist who was awarded the Nobel Prize
for Chemistry in 1962) and the mathematician Sir Hermann Bondi
.
He was subsequently sent to Canada
before being returned to England and set to work as an agricultural labourer in East Anglia
.
The intellectual approach adopted by Levi was unusual at that time, given that the Modern movement was increasingly dominating public museums and galleries (for example Franco Albini's
1950 decision to remove the frames from the Old Master
paintings in the Palazzo Bianco and display them against white walls). However, collectors such as Antoine Seilern and Sir Brinsley Ford kept to traditional values and employed Levi regularly. Few public collections followed their examples until the late 1970s.
It was Levi who first reconstructed the machine needed to recreate the black ripple moulding frames for reframing of Dutch 17th-century paintings. One of Levi's greatest successes after his retirement, and in collaboration with William Adair, was the identification of the 11 paintings needed to reassemble Filippo Mazzola’s
polyptych that formed the altarpiece in the church of S Maria delle Grazie at Cortemaggiore. Levi had purchased the frame in 1967 and his role in and generosity in donating it were recognised in 2003 when he was awarded the rank of Cavaliere.
Levi married Paula Fuchs in 1951, he had three sons and two daughters and died in Reading
.
Background
Levi played a pivotal role in the transformation of picture framing in the decades following the Second World War and created a wide range of frames based on historic styles for public and private patrons, including a number of the greatest art collections of Europe and North America.Early life
Levi was born in LeipzigLeipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
on 22 August 1919, the only son of the mathematician Friedrich Levi
Friedrich Wilhelm Levi
Friedrich Wilhelm Daniel Levi was a German mathematician known for his work in abstract algebra. He also worked in geometry, topology, set theory, and analysis...
. In 1935 his father, who was of Jewish ancestry, was prevented from teaching in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and left for India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Levi was sent to Blundell's School
Blundell's School
Blundell's School is a co-educational day and boarding independent school located in the town of Tiverton in the county of Devon, England. The school was founded in 1604 by the will of Peter Blundell, one of the richest men in England at the time, and relocated to its present location on the...
in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
where he developed his interest in carving and architecture, winning a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
schools' prize for sculpture.
As a German national Levi was interned on the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
following the German invasion of the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
in 1940. Whilst interned he became friendly with others in the same situation, including Johannes Wilde (later deputy director of the Courtauld Institute), Max Perutz
Max Perutz
Max Ferdinand Perutz, OM, CH, CBE, FRS was an Austrian-born British molecular biologist, who shared the 1962 Nobel Prize for Chemistry with John Kendrew, for their studies of the structures of hemoglobin and globular proteins...
(the molecular biologist who was awarded the Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
for Chemistry in 1962) and the mathematician Sir Hermann Bondi
Hermann Bondi
Sir Hermann Bondi, KCB, FRS was an Anglo-Austrian mathematician and cosmologist. He is best known for developing the steady-state theory of the universe with Fred Hoyle and Thomas Gold as an alternative to the Big Bang theory, but his most lasting legacy will probably be his important...
.
He was subsequently sent to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
before being returned to England and set to work as an agricultural labourer in East Anglia
East Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
.
Post war
After the war Levi met the artist and frame-maker F.A. Pollak and subsequently began to collect examples of antique frames. He later recognised that 16th-century Dutch frames could be dated precisely from the profiles of their mouldings when compared to a sequence of fixed points provided by dated paintings retaining their original frames. This systematic approach was to form the basis for Levi's subsequent career, and in 1950 he set up his own workshop.The intellectual approach adopted by Levi was unusual at that time, given that the Modern movement was increasingly dominating public museums and galleries (for example Franco Albini's
Franco Albini
Franco Albini was an Italian Neo-Rationalist architect and designer.A native of Robbiate, near Milan, Albini obtained his degree in architecture at Politecnico di Milano University in 1929 and began his professional career working for Gio Ponti. He started displaying his works at...
1950 decision to remove the frames from the Old Master
Old Master
"Old Master" is a term for a European painter of skill who worked before about 1800, or a painting by such an artist. An "old master print" is an original print made by an artist in the same period...
paintings in the Palazzo Bianco and display them against white walls). However, collectors such as Antoine Seilern and Sir Brinsley Ford kept to traditional values and employed Levi regularly. Few public collections followed their examples until the late 1970s.
It was Levi who first reconstructed the machine needed to recreate the black ripple moulding frames for reframing of Dutch 17th-century paintings. One of Levi's greatest successes after his retirement, and in collaboration with William Adair, was the identification of the 11 paintings needed to reassemble Filippo Mazzola’s
Parmigianino
Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola , also known as Francesco Mazzola or more commonly as Parmigianino or sometimes "Parmigiano", was an Italian Mannerist painter and printmaker active in Florence, Rome, Bologna, and his native city of Parma...
polyptych that formed the altarpiece in the church of S Maria delle Grazie at Cortemaggiore. Levi had purchased the frame in 1967 and his role in and generosity in donating it were recognised in 2003 when he was awarded the rank of Cavaliere.
Levi married Paula Fuchs in 1951, he had three sons and two daughters and died in Reading
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
.
Sources
- Obituary - Paul Levi, The Independent, 31 December 2008
- Part 1, A 500-year-old frame returns home, William B Adair, Picture Framing Magazine, August 2003
- Part 2, A 500-year-old frame returns home, William B Adair, Picture Framing Magazine, September 2003
- Adams, Lorraine, 'Restoration leads to Historical Reunion', The Washington Post, 24 October 2002