The Triumph of Mordecai, Rembrandt, 1641

Ori Z. Soltes will give the Eleventh Annual Lecture for the Mollie and Louis Kaplan Museum of Judaica, joining a list of distinguished previous lecturers that has included Vivian Mann, Curator of Judaica at the Jewish Museum in New York, Sharon Mintz, Curator for Judaica at the Jewish Theological Seminary and Tom L. Freudenheim, formerly a Director of the Smithsonian. Professor Soltes’ lecture, “What is Jewish Art? From Rembrandt to Shalom of Safed,” will focus on important works in the Kaplan collection, including seven newly acquired works – Rembrandt’s The Triumph of Mordecai (see illustration), five signed Chagall etchings and a beautiful watercolor by Shalom of Safed, supplemented by examples from other museums around the world. 

Using images from the Kaplan and other museums, Soltes will address the question of how we define Jewish art. For example, is the basis for the definition the artist or the artwork? If it is the artwork, then is a woodcarving of Jacob blessing Ephraim and Menashe by an unknown Christian artist or an etching by Rembrandt of a scene from the Book of Esther Jewish art?  What if it is a scene of Manhattan by a Jewishly committed artist?  Or a painting of fields in northern Israel by a secular Israeli Jew? In other words, is inclusion as Jewish art based on the Jewish identity of the artist, the subject matter, the style or the symbols in the artwork? What is it that might connect Rembrandt and Shalom of Safed to each other and to the wonderful collection of ceremonial objects and other works that form the basis of the Kaplan Museum? The display of colorful images throughout the talk will assure a dynamic program perfectly conducive to the on-line format.

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More about Ori Soltes:

Soltes teaches theology, art history, politics, and philosophy in the Center for Jewish Civilization in the School for Foreign Service at Georgetown University, probably the only professorship anywhere in the world that combines religious studies with art history and politics. He has published 290 articles and 25 books on diverse subjects, many of which address the interrelationship of art and religion. He is is acclaimed as an informative, engaging and entertaining speaker who has lectured widely throughout the United States.