The Artless Jew: Medieval and Modern Affirmations and Denials of the Visual.

243 Pages·2000·1.04 MB·English

by  Kalman P. Bland

THE ARTLESS JEW

THE ARTLESS JEW
MEDIEVAL AND MODERN AFFIRMATIONS
AND DENIALS OF THE VISUAL
Kalman P. Bland
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY
Copyright(cid:211) 2000byPrincetonUniversityPress
PublishedbyPrincetonUniversityPress,41WilliamStreet,
Princeton,NewJersey08540
IntheUnitedKingdom:PrincetonUniversityPress,
Chichester,WestSussex
AllRightsReserved
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Bland,KalmanP.,1942–
TheartlessJew:medievalandmodernaffirmations
anddenialsofthevisual/byKalmanP.Bland.
p.cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN0-691-01043-9(cl.:alk.paper)
1.Judaismandart—Historyofdoctrines.2.Tencommandments—
Images.3.Art,Jewish.4.Jewishaesthetics.5.Jews—Intellectuallife.
I.Title.
BM538.A7B552000
296.4'6'09—dc21 99-044922
ThisbookhasbeencomposedinGalliard
Thepaperusedinthispublicationmeetstheminimum
requirementsofANSI/NISOZ39.48-1992(R1997)
(PermanenceofPaper)
http://pup.princeton.edu
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To Annabel J. Wharton

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 3
One
ModernDenialsandAffirmationsofJewishArt:
GermanophoneOriginsandThemes 13
Two
Anglo-AmericanVariations 37
Three
ThePremodernConsensus 59
Four
TheWell-TemperedMedievalSensorium 71
Five
MedievalBeautyandCulturalRelativism 92
Six
Twelfth-CenturyPilgrims,GoldenCalves,
andReligiousPolemics 109
Seven
ThePowerandRegulationofImagesinLate
MedievalJewishSociety 141
Notes 155
Bibliography 201
Index 229

Acknowledgments
PORTIONSOFchapter1appearedinJewishIdentityinModernArtHistory,
edited by Catherine Soussloff. A different version of chapter 4 appeared
in the Journal of the History of Ideas. Chapter 5 appeared in the Journal
ofMedievalandEarlyModernStudies.Iamgratefultotheeditorsofthose
publicationsfortheirpermissiontoreproducemywork.
Deborah Malmud and her staff at Princeton University Press are un-
matched in efficiency, professionalism, and humane support. Collaborat-
ing with them in the making of this book was an author’s privilege and
pleasure.
To the many people who read portions of the manuscript and shared
their wisdom with me, I am profoundly grateful. Chief among them is
AnnabelJ.Wharton,towhomthisbookisdedicated.SidraDeKovenEz-
rahi has a keen eye and a heart for encouragement. Rifa"at "Ali Abou
El-Haj and Richard I. Cohen know what needs saying. Erich Gruen,
Bluma Goldstein, Catherine Soussloff, and Peter Selz were there when I
neededthem.RobertAlterandBarryS.Kogangavesagecounsel.Daniel
Boyarinofferedearlyandconstantencouragement.ReadersforPrinceton
University Press made invaluable suggestions. Had I followed more of
theiradvice,IwouldhaverepairedalloftheremainingfaultlinesinThe
ArtlessJew.
KalmanP.Bland
March1999