Not All Medieval Sacred Art Was Anti-Semitic
THE NEW YORK TIMES
NEW YORK---In medieval Europe, Christian artists veered between extremes when portraying Jews in religious book illustrations, murals, statues and windows. Sara Lipton, an associate professor of history at Stony Brook University, has studied the spectrum for a new book, “Dark Mirror: The Medieval Origins of Anti-Jewish Iconography” (Metropolitan Books). In the windows at Chartres cathedral, for instance, she found Jews and Christians alike portrayed as compassionate, generous and foresighted, as well as idolizing money and committing crimes. “You can get almost any message you want out of that building,” she said. [link]
NEW YORK---In medieval Europe, Christian artists veered between extremes when portraying Jews in religious book illustrations, murals, statues and windows. Sara Lipton, an associate professor of history at Stony Brook University, has studied the spectrum for a new book, “Dark Mirror: The Medieval Origins of Anti-Jewish Iconography” (Metropolitan Books). In the windows at Chartres cathedral, for instance, she found Jews and Christians alike portrayed as compassionate, generous and foresighted, as well as idolizing money and committing crimes. “You can get almost any message you want out of that building,” she said. [link]