The Hebrew Bible and the Visual Arts (2013 Perlove), course

The Hebrew Bible and the Visual Arts is a course offered by Shelley Perlove at the University of Michigan in Winter 2013 (JS 417).

Course description

How did such famous artists as Michelangelo, Raphael, Caravaggio, Rembrandt and others interpret subjects from the Old Testament? This course focuses upon themes from the Old Testament and studies them in relation to diverse, artistic interpretations of these subjects (1400-1700). It goes without saying that the Old Testament exerted a tremendous impact upon religious culture during this period. Commentators of various faiths offered new readings of the Bible. We will consult the Bible and these commentaries in relation to sculpture, painting and prints from the Renaissance through the Baroque era, and will also study such Jewish art as illustrated marriage contracts, Esther scrolls, books, and manuscripts. Students will compare the treatment of the same biblical subject in the art of Italy, the Netherlands, France, and Germany in the early modern period and will focus upon such biblical figures as: Adam and Eve; Abraham and Hagar; Jacob, Joseph and Potiphar’s wife; Samson and Delilah, David and Bathsheba; Daniel and Susanna, Esther, and Judith. We will also study prints featuring the “Power of Women” of the Bible.

Syllabus

Judaic Studies 417.001 / History of Art (HISTART) 489.006 / Religious Studies (REL) 402.001 / Womens Studies (WOMENSTD) 434.001 / Residential College Core Course (RCCORE) 334.002

Tuesday/Thursday, 11:30-1:00; Mason Hall 3356