Portrait of Rabbi Akiva Wertheimer. Unknown artist. [Altona, Germany, ca. 1835-1880]. Oil on canvas. Unsigned.

The painting is titled in the lower right corner: "Rabbi Akiva Wertheimer / Altona" (Hebrew); also titled on the reverse, in contemporary handwriting: "E. Wertheimer, Oberrabiner Altona, died on Wednesday, 21 Iyar 5595 Ao 1835" (Hebrew and German) and bears a dedication inscription: "Geschenck von M. Lichtenheim-Rée Ao 1880, Altona" (German and Hebrew).

Rabbi Akiva Israel Wertheimer-Breslau (1778-1835), one of the greatest Torah scholars of Germany, a student of Rabbi Akiva Eger. He served as the rabbi of Lübeck-Moisling; in 1823, he was appointed Chief Rabbi of Schleswig-Holstein and succeeded Rabbi Mendel Hirsch-Frankfurter (grandfather of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch) as rabbi of Altona, thus becoming the first rabbi appointed solely as Chief Rabbi of Altona after the separation of the Altona, Hamburg and Wandsbek communities.

This portrait is not among the known portraits of R. Akiva Wertheimer, and it appears to be a unique copy, of which no reproductions or prints were made. The portrait is documented in the book "Jews of Hamburg: Memoirs by William Aron" (published by the American Jewish Committee of Hamburg Jews), New York, 1967, pp. 95-96; where it is stated that the portrait hung in the meeting room (Sitzungssaal) of the Jewish community house (Gemeindhaus) in Altona. It is also written there that the portrait was painted by Pius Warburg, although this information seems inaccurate, as Warburg (1816-1900) was known as a banker, an important art collector, and a patron of artists, but we are not aware of any works he painted himself.

Moses Abraham Lichtenheim-Rée – whose name appears on the back of the canvas as the donor of the painting – is buried in the Jewish cemetery in Altona (died in 1893).

Painting: 40.5X45.3 cm. rame (later): 50.7X54.8 cm. Overall good condition. Paint scaling. Minor cracks and blemishes – mainly to margins – with some old paint repairs. Stains on the reverse of the canvas.