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This exhibition presents a group of nineteenth-century European artists of Jewish origin who lived in the vibrant historical period when Europe awakened to new notions of human equality. As Enlightenment ideas were written into law, many groups but particularly Jews were granted equal citizenship for the first time. Marginalized and generally absent from the standard literature of the period, these artists took full advantage of the gradual process of political emancipation and social acculturation in Europe. As Jews were now allowed to live outside their closed communities, new forms of expression and new careers became possible. Jews began to establish themselves as professional artists for the first time in modern history. Some artists took the opportunity to express their Judaism in their art. Others embraced the secular art world and left their Jewish identity behind. Many would push the boundaries, not only of their own religious tradition, but also of the confines of academic art. Often this would entail the engagement of Jewish artists with European masters and new art movements. Shown together for the first time since the beginning of the twentieth century, these artists provide an entree into a world of conflicting identities and associations, display a variety of artistic styles and preoccupations, and highlight the complexities faced by minority artists in a dynamic European art world.
The Emergence of Jewish Artists in Nineteenth-Century Europe is made possible through the leadership support of Daniel R. and April S. Goldberg, Brenda Gruss and Daniel O. Hirsch, Andrew E. and Marina W. Lewin, Clement and Susan Lewin, Tamar and Stephen Olitsky, and an anonymous donor in memory of their grandparents Oscar and Regina Gruss.
Major gifts have been provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York Council for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Milton and Miriam Handler Foundation, and other generous donors. The catalogue has been published with the aid of a publications fund established by the Dorot Foundation. |
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