Leopold Gottlieb's family
- 23.12.2025
Meet extraordinary Aurelia, the artist’s wife – “Reluchna,” a PhD in the arts, who became the guardian of Gottlieb’s legacy after he died. Her letters written to the departed husband are among the most moving testimonies to love in the history of Polish art.
Have a look at Miriam and Ewa – the beloved daughters described by Gottlieb with loving tenderness: “they are the sweetest kids there have ever been.” The letters to his wife contain descriptions of his dream, simple but touching, about the family living together in a house with a yard in which the children could play barefoot.
Let us remember the brother Leopold never met – immensely talented Maurycy who died one month after Leopold’s birth. And the many siblings in Drohobych – one of them, Róża, married the artist’s friend.
The Gottlieb family is more than a family tree. It is a map of emotions, longing and loyalty. At the time of year that we gather around the table we should remember that there are human stories behind great artworks.
The photographs come from the artist's family archive, digitised as part of a project co-financed by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage from the Culture Promotion Fund.
Galeria
Leopold Gottlieb's Family
An infographic introducing the story of Gottlieb’s family. It contains a photographic portrait of the artist’s sister, Róża, and a detail from an official document issued in Drohobych.
Drohobycz
On 3 June 1979, Leopold is born in Drohobych to Izaak Gottlieb and Feiga née Tiegerman as the youngest of eleven children. His sister Róża was to marry Mieczysław Jakimowicz, the artist’s friend.
Maurycy Gottlieb
Photograph of one of Maurycy Gottlieb’s paintings from the family archive.
The eldest brother
Maurycy Gottlieb (1856–1879) – Leopold’s eldest brother. They were not to create a brotherly bond as Maurycy died one month after Leopold’s birth. One of Jan Matejko’s most outstanding students, alongside such artists as Jacek Malczewski and Walerian Kryciński. Two other brothers were also painters, Marcin Gottlieb (1867-1936) and Filip (1870-?).
Aurelia Gottlieb
Photograph depicting the artist’s wife Aurelia sitting by the desk in their Paris apartment.
The artist's wife
Aurelia Gottlieb, née Polturak (1892-1943) – called Reluchna or Reluś by Gottlieb. They marry in Vienna in spring 1919. Before that, she studies in Berlin and obtains her PhD in the arts from the University of Vienna. When married, she gives birth to two daughters – Miriam [Myriam] and Ewa [Eva]. During WWII she is active in the Jewish underground in Lyon. Until the end of her life, she makes sure that her husband’s oeuvre is not forgotten. She continues to write to Leopold even after his death – reminiscing and analysing his works in the letters that her husband was never to read.
Miriam and Ewa Gottlieb
The photograph from summer holidays depicts Gottlieb’s daughters by a well.
The artist's daughters
Miriam [Myriam] (b. 1920) and Ewa [Eva] (b. 1922) Gottlieb – beloved daughters of Leopold and Aurelia. In the letters to his wife Gottlieb consistently stresses that he misses his children who live in Vienna with their mother when he is staying in Paris. He writes about his daughters: “they are the sweetest kids there have ever been; polite and good looking – and so merry, we should thank God for them!” In the correspondence with his wife he often writes about the plans for the family to live together: “everything seems like it has been made for our treasures; tell them they will be able to play barefoot in the yard.”
Project funding
Co-funding for this project was provided by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage from the Culture Promotion Fund