Language:
English
Pages:
Ill.
Year of publication:
2005
Titel der Quelle:
Ars Judaica : the Bar-Ilan journal of Jewish art
Publ. der Quelle:
Ramat-Gan
Angaben zur Quelle:
1 (2005), Seite 9 - 26
Abstract:
The use of figural art in ancient Judaism has been a controversial issue for generations. Once considered anathema, growing evidence, particularly from archaeological sources over the past century, has shown that this was not always the case. In fact, attitudes toward figural images fluctuated time and again in the course of antiquity. In biblical times, such usage is apparent in royal, Temple, and private settings while, beginning with the Hasmoneans, a strict avoidance became all but universal. Figural images began to reappear in Jewish settings in the second century, becoming fairly widespread in Late Antiquity. However, in the sixth and seventh centuries, an aniconic proclivity emerged and quickly became prevalent in Jewish art. This article describes the historical contexts in which these three changes took place, and offers explanations as to why they happened when they did and who was responsible for them.
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