arts & entertainment
J,
An exhibit on
Rembrandt, Jews
and Jesus comes
to the Detroit
*Institute of Arts.
Robin Cembalest
Tablet Magazine
I
n recent years, the image of the artist
as a philo-Semite who painted and
socialized with his Jewish neighbors
has become a topic of intense scholarly
debate. Yet the notion that there's some-
thing crypto-Jewish about Rembrandt
continues to enthrall.
But maybe the Jews in Rembrandt's art
are hidden in plain sight, clearly visible in
depictions of his favorite Jewish protago-
nist of all. That's the thesis of "Rembrandt
and the Face of Jesus," a provocative exhib-
it that debuted last year at the Louvre,
then traveled to the Philadelphia Museum
of Art before opening at the Detroit
Institute of Arts on Nov. 20.
In the catalog accompanying the exhibit,
curator Lloyd DeWitt suggests that the
model for a series of seven heads of Christ
— studies that DeWitt believes Rembrandt
Special Programs
embrandt and the Face of
Jesus," an exhibition of 64 inti-
mate works brought together
for the first time, joins seven portraits
of Jesus by Rembrandt with those of
his students. It runs Nov. 20-Feb.12,
2012, at the Detroit Institute of Arts.
Tour tickets – $16 adults, $8 youth
– include museum admission and an
audio tour. 5200 Woodward, Detroit.
(313) 833-7900; dia.org .
Special programs and tours explore
the impact and times of the artist's
images as well as the impact of Jesus
and the times in which he lived.
The events below, listed chronologi-
cally, are open to the public and will
be held at the Detroit Institute of Arts.
Fees are noted if applicable.
R
Sunday, Nov. 20:
"Music From the Time of Rembrandt"
1 and 3 p.m.
Edward Parmentier, a specialist in
early keyboard music at the University
CI)
Head of Christ, Rembrandt van Rijn,
oil on oak panel, c. 1648-50. No one
inward-looking Jesus is modeled on an
actual Jew.
Bust of a Young Jew, Rembrandt van
Rijn, 1663, oil on canvas. This portrait,
like the one on today's front cover,
portrays a young man in a skullcap
who is presumed to be a Jew.
used for several major religious paintings
— was a Jew. While DeWitt is not the first
to identify a Jewish Jesus in Rembrandt's
work or in this particular series of paint-
ings, the show is the first to unite all seven
since 1656 and the most ambitious effort
to view them in the larger context of the
artist's religious work. In addition to being
the largest-ever gathering of paintings of
Rembrandt's Jesus, the show is also the
largest gathering of Rembrandt's Jews.
That is, if you agree with DeWitt's thesis
about the ethnicity of the figure in these
studies, a theory for which he has no doc-
umentary proof. There is no known record
of a Jewish man posing for such pictures.
Not one of the studies is signed or dated,
and only one has been authenticated.
DeWitt, however, finds support for his
premise from an intriguing source: a 1656
audit of Rembrandt's house. In the list were
three heads of Christ, possibly from the
same series as the ones in the show. One of
the heads was evidently described as "from
life," a phrase that has led scholars to infer
Rembrandt worked with a live model. At
that particular place and time in the art-
ist's career, DeWitt reasons, as his religious
works became more spiritual, less spectac-
ular, Rembrandt is likely to have searched
out a sitter with the same physiognomy as
his savior — namely, a Jew — in his quest
to make the most naturalistic, humble
Jesus to date in the history of art.
can say for certain that this serene,
of Michigan, plays selections from the
17th century on a replica of a period
virginal, a legless harpsichord.
Friday, Nov. 25:
Repeat of Sunday Recital
7 and 8:30 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 4:
"Religion, Community and the Arts:
Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges"
Interfaith Panel, Exhibit Tour and
Reception
3-6:30 p.m.
Sponsored by the Interfaith
Leadership Council – Jewish News/
Chaldean News Building Community
Initiative, the event features Howard
Lupovitch, Dr. Marsha Foster Boyd and
Saeed A. Khan discussing the cultural
context and faith views of Jesus.
Tickets, $48-$100, are available by
visiting detroitinterfaithcouncil.com .
Sunday, Jan. 8:
"Rembrandt's Great Challenge:
Visualizing Jesus"
2 p.m.
In a lecture, Shelley Perlove inves-
tigates the artist's paintings and
prints of biblical narratives to reveal
Rembrandt's distinctive approach to
the life of Jesus as a Jew.
Thursday, Dec. 8:
Guided Tour With Hadassah
10:15 a.m.
Participants meet at Adat Shalom
Synagogue, 29901 Middlebelt,
Farmington Hills.
$35 members; $45 nonmembers.
Send checks to Hadassah, 5030
Orchard Lake Road, West Bloomfield,
MI 48323.
(248) 851-7757.
Wednesday, Jan. 18:
Guided Tour With the National Council
of Jewish Women
10:45 a.m.
$10, plus exhibit ticket, for NCJW
members; $15, plus exhibit ticket, for
nonmembers. No additional exhibit
charge for DIA members.
(248) 355-3300; www.ncjwgds.org .
The Supper at Emmaus, Rembrandt
van Rijn, 1648, oil on mahogany. In
this painting, the bread Jesus breaks
with his disciples is a braided challah.
Scholarly Obsession
Clarifying the Dutch master's links to
the Jews, or lack thereof, has become
an obsession for scholars over the past
decade. Books and exhibitions have parsed
Rembrandt's genealogy, his religiosity, his
commissions, his motives for moving to a
Jewish neighborhood, his Old Testament
scenes, his New Testament scenes and his
relationship with Rabbi Menasseh ben
Israel — whose book Rembrandt might
have illustrated, whose portrait he may or
may not have painted, and who possibly
helped with the Aramaic inscription in the
artist's famous Belshazzar's Feast.
Semitic on page 56
Saturday, Jan. 21:
Film: Rembrandt
4 p.m.
Charles Laughton teamed up in 1936
with producer Alexander Korda for this
biographical portrait of Rembrandt
van Rijn. Beginning when Rembrandt's
reputation was at its height, the film
tracks his descent into loneliness
and isolated self-expression after the
death of his wife; it goes on to the
unveiling of The Night Watch and the
ecclesiastical excommunication of his
late-in-life lover and maid, Hendrickje
Stoffels.
$5; free for DIA members.
Sunday, Jan. 29:
"Sfogati! 0 dulcis Jesu – Divine
Music"
1 and 3 p.m.
Performers are Lorna Young
Hildebrandt, soprano; Kiri Tollaksen,
cornetto; and Shin-Ae Chun, harpsi-
chord. LI
- Suzanne Chessler, Contributing Writer
November 17 • 2011
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