Looking at Contemporary Judaism

Abstract In 1721–1725, the Amsterdam artist Bernard Picart (1673–1733) produced perhaps the most influential representations of Jews and Judaism in European history—twelve folio plates that appeared in the first volume of The Religious Ceremonies and Customs of All the Peoples of the World. The chapter describes how Picart advanced the discourse of religious toleration by portraying compatibility between the ideals of Judaism and Christian society, especially compatibility with the aspirations of the thriving European merchant class (including its colonialist ideology). The project was strongly influenced by Jewish contributions, in particular by Leon Modena’s History of Jewish Rituals, which Picart included in the imprint as the introductory text on Judaism, followed by Richard Simon’s Comparison of Jewish Ceremonies with Ecclesiastical Practice. The Jewish community of Amsterdam collaborated with Picart’s project, enabling him to produce authentic images of specific observances of Jewish rituals and customs. Altogether, some seventeen printings of Picart’s project in French, English, Dutch, and German appeared; and Picart’s images became a foundation for the visual perception of contemporary Judaism.