Patrick Bade
Portrayal of the Jews in Western Art
Summary
A unique look at the portrayal of Jews by artists from a Christian background over the past millennium. The presentation includes a range of images, from beautiful portraits to offensive stereotypes, and highlights the theme of the “belle juive” (beautiful Jewess) in the 19th century. Featured artists include Gustav Moreau, Jules Bastien Lepage, John Singer Sargent, and Otto Dix.
Patrick Bade
Patrick Bade is a historian, writer, and broadcaster. He studied at UCL and the Courtauld Institute of Art. He was a senior lecturer at Christie’s Education for many years and has worked for the Art Fund, Royal Opera House, National Gallery, and V&A. He has published on 19th- and early 20th-century paintings and historical vocal recordings. His latest book is Music Wars: 1937–1945.
I don’t know about big nose, but I think Rembrandt paints Jesus as a Jew. Ironically really, the most Jewish subject in painting has to be Jesus.
Yeah, some. I don’t think that is the reason why. I don’t think that explained Rembrandt’s interest in Jews, ‘cause obviously, there were plenty of other artists in Amsterdam who didn’t paint Jews. And there were certainly places where people had never seen a Jew and didn’t know what the Jew looked like. But on the other hand, there were Jewish communities in many European cities. It was forbidden in the Jewish religion to paint a face as it was the 10 commandments of no grave, yes. So that is why I said it’d be so interesting to know more about the circumstances of those Rembrandt portraits of very religious Jews.