Introduction to Jewish Art

4.0 credits

From biblical times to the present, the visual arts have played, contrary to common opinion, a vital role in the making of Jewish civilization. Judaism has, indeed, a rich tradition of architectural, decorative, liturgical, and pictorial expression, and a history of discourse (and debate) on the role that art and iconography should play in religious life. This course explores the nature and function of the visual arts in Judaism from the standpoints of social and cultural history, and material culture. Through the discussion and contextualization of artifacts from ancient to modern and contemporary time (including ancient mosaics, liturgical objects, illuminated manuscripts, paintings and photography), it will interrogate the definition of Jewish art itself, the forms in which Jews over the century have reacted, as a minority, to surrounding artistic expressions, and the ways in which artists have integrated, reinterpreted, or grappled with aspects of Jewish culture in their works.