Alexandre (Alexander) Altmann was born to a Jewish family in the village near Kiev. At the age of 11 he left his home and later reached Odessa. In order to earn his living he worked as a tailor, shoemaker, metalworker and grocery store clerk until becoming acquainted with the painter Doroshevich. Doroshevich recognized the talent of the young man and advised him to study painting. Since Altmann did not find the opportunity to study in Ukraine, he left his homeland for Austria at the age of 20. Soon though, he left Vienna and made his way to Paris. He took any work and worked even at night in order to survive and to study painting. He needed brushes and paint and in the daytime when museums wer...