91
Book
ReviewRembrandt
and His Jewish NeighboursRembrandt's Jews. Steven Nadler. 2003. Chicago: University
of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226567362, pbk, 250 pp., £12.25
SAGE Publications, Inc.2005DOI: 10.1177/09675507050130010507
Sue Veck
University of Southampton
This
interesting account of Jewish history in Amsterdam starts with a fascinating
description of building works taking place next door to Rembrandt's house
on Sint-Anthonisbreestraat. We are immersed in a convincing account of the
noise, dust and upheaval and are told that the canny builder, knowing of Rembrandt's
reputation for non-payment of debts, did not even bother to charge him for
his share of the building works. Nadler, a distinguished Jewish philosopher
and historian, places Rembrandt firmly in the Jewish quarter where he lived
for most of his time in the city. He alternates lively descriptions of his
visits and experi- ences in present-day Amsterdam with learned research on
the influx of both Portuguese and later Ashkenazim Jews from Germany, Poland
and Lithuania. The tensions between the two disparate Jewish camps is explored.
The religious toleration of the people of the Netherlands, aston- ishing for
its time, is explained by the practical, economic advantages of allowing
prosperous merchants to settle and carry on their trade within Dutch cities.
This religious tolerance at first took the form of a com- promise: Jews were
allowed to worship God in their own way, but could not flaunt their faith
or festivals. Jews were allowed to settle but precautions were taken against
their ability to proselytize their faith; they could not employ Christian
servants or send their children to schools in Amsterdam. The situation, on
the whole benefited both sides and Nadler quotes Rabbi Uziel who proclaimed
life for Jews in Amsterdam was `tranquil and secure'. Nadler guards against
the temptation to romanticize Rembrandt's inter- action and fascination with
the Jews. He says that his `heartfelt respect for their traditions arose from
his personal encounters along Breestraat'. In this, Nadler disagrees with
Gary Schwartz, who in his Rembrandt: his life, his paintings believes that
`Rembrandt did not penetrate deeply into the Jewish community'. Nadler points
out the difficulty of determining which of Rembrandt's works are purportedly
Jewish subjects. There is no solid
92
evidence
that the couple portrayed in the `Jewish Bride' are of the Jewish faith or
that an Old Testament scene is its subject. Rembrandt undoubtedly had a close
connection with Rabbi Menassah ben Israel. Nadler gives a detailed account
of Menassah's life including his trip to England to engage in debate with
Cromwell over the readmission of Jews to England. He found that Rembrandt
and Menassah had several close acquaintances in common. The Hebrew characters
are written in light on the wall in `Belchazzar's Feast' with great confidence,
there are eight other important works giving Hebrew script in Rembrandt's
work and Nadler cites Menassah as his adviser on the texts. They worked together
in 1655 on illustrations for Menassah's book Piedra Gloriosa and Rembrandt
pro- duced four striking images; however, mysteriously, these were only used
in the first edition of the book. Some have speculated that Menassah was unhappy
with Rembrandt's etchings; however, Nadler thinks the explana- tion is more
mundane – that the second edition was produced after Menassah had left
Amsterdam for good. From chapter four the book takes a different slant away
from Rembrandt and towards a much more general view of Jews in Amsterdam.
There is a long account of the building of the Esnoga synagogue, which, when
it was completed in 1675, six years after Rembrandt's death, was one of the
most impressive buildings in Amsterdam. Nadler recounts how the Jews in Amsterdam
were a great tourist attraction, with travellers from England, France and
Italy making a visit to watch the Jews at prayer a highpoint of their trip
to Amsterdam. In an attempt to keep order, fines were introduced for Jews
who engaged in interaction with the spectators. Nadler then investigates the
building of the Jewish cemetery twenty miles outside Amsterdam in Ouderkerk.
He looks at the works by van Ruisdael and de Hooghe as examples of Christian
artists engaged in fascination for this place of alien burial. I found this
book to be very enlightening on the growth of the Jewish community in Amsterdam
and the detailed research on the area in which Rembrandt lived is absorbing.
However, the book, particularly its latter half, veers away from its central
theme, and the focus on Rembrandt is largely lost. The author switches tack
frequently and his changes of direc- tion are sometimes quite disconcerting:
an analysis of van Ruisdael's landscape paintings is followed by a description
of the author's jogging trip to the cemetery and the book ends with a description
of Messanah's funeral. However, by his examination of the position of the
Jewish com- munity in Amsterdam Nadler has certainly contributed towards the
debate on the extent of Rembrandt's engagement with his Jewish neighbours.