Uriel Birnbaum Biography

Uriel Birnbaum (1894–1956) was an Austrian painter, illustrator, graphic artist and poet whose expressive images frequently drew on Jewish religious traditions, biblical narratives and his experiences of the First World War. He worked in an individual style characterised by dramatic figures, intense colour and imaginative, sometimes unsettling compositions.

Born in Vienna on 13 November 1894, Birnbaum was the youngest son of the writer and Jewish religious thinker Nathan Birnbaum and Rosa Korngut. He grew up in a household in which literature, political debate and religious thought were important. The family spent several years in Berlin from 1911, where Uriel pursued drawing and painting and briefly attended an art school. He also began writing poetry and contributing illustrations to publications.

During the First World War he served in the Austro-Hungarian army and was seriously wounded. The physical consequences of his injuries affected the rest of his life, while the destruction and suffering he witnessed became recurring subjects in his art and writing. His collection of sonnets In Gottes Krieg addressed the spiritual questions raised by the conflict.

Birnbaum produced illustrated books and print portfolios combining religious themes with elements of Expressionism. Among his publications were Weltuntergang (1921), a vision of catastrophe; Das Buch Jona (1921), based on the biblical story of Jonah; and Moses (1924), featuring interpretations of the life of the biblical prophet. He also illustrated a German edition of Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass in 1923. These works reveal his interest in using illustrations not merely to accompany texts, but to interpret them through symbolic imagery.

Following the Nazi annexation of Austria in 1938, Birnbaum emigrated with his family to the Netherlands. During the German occupation, he survived periods in hiding. He remained in the Netherlands after the war, continuing his literary and artistic activities despite difficult circumstances.

Birnbaum died in Amersfoort on 9 December 1956. A substantial part of his surviving library, drawings, sketches and manuscripts is held by the Moses Mendelssohn Centre in Potsdam. The Jewish Museum Berlin also provides access to digitised examples of his illustrated publications.

Birnbaum is included among the artists on our Out of Copyright from 1st January 2027 page.