Mendelsohn, Behold the Man

NEW BOOK FROM MAGNESS PRESS (IN HEBREW):

Behold the Man
Jesus in Israeli Art

By Amitai Mendelsohn

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Printed book $ 50.00 $ 45.00

Publisher: The Hebrew University Magnes Press
In collaboration with: Israel Museum, Jerusalem
Categories:
Art, Christianity, Jewish Studies
Publish date: January 2017
Language: Hebrew
Danacode: 45-481012
ISBN: 978-965-278-464-3
Cover: Hardcover
Pages: 288
Weight: 1300 gr.

Dr. Amitai Mendelsohn investigates the various appearances of the figure of Jesus in Israeli art as a significant, multifaceted and ever-present phenomenon. Through works by prominent artists from different generations, it discusses in depth the evolving attitudes of Jewish, Zionist pre-state, and Israeli art towards Jesus, from the second half of the nineteenth century until today: from artists laboring "In the shadow of the Cross" to artists who saw Jesus as a symbol of the rebirth of the Jewish people in the land of Israel, and artists whose engagement with Jesus is detached from the complex and fraught relations between Christianity and Judaism, and who see him as symbolizing the suffering artist. The book examines the different directions taken by Israeli artists in portraying the figure of Jesus, and proves the extent of this phenomena and its ever present importance.

Although, oddly, the publisher's blurb never says this, this book is clearly the catalogue for the Behold the Man exhibition currently running at the Israel Museum. Aviya Kushner reported that it is being translated into English.