Jewish Art

This handsomely illustrated survey of Jewish art extends from an eighth-century B.C. ivory pomegranate-shaped vase (the only known object attributed to King Solomon's Temple) through Hebrew illuminated medieval manuscripts to paintings by Marc Chagall and Larry Rivers. Grossman, a curator at the Hebrew Union College Skirball Museum in Los Angeles, explores how Jewish artists have adapted the techniques of profoundly different cultures to create a distinctly Judaic artistic heritage, whether in a Byzantine mosaic synagogue floor, wrought-iron grillwork from a Prague synagogue, a velvet Torah mantle from Morocco or artwork from Israel, Austria, Ukraine, Prussia, Persia, England, Rome or the U.S. Clothing, paintings, prayerbook engravings, Sabbath lamps and plates, scrolls, silverware, marriage contracts and menorahs help reveal how Jews mark life-cycle passages. George Segal's sculpture The Holocaust (1982), Max Beckmann's oil The Synagogue (1919) and paintings by Raphael Soyer, Adolph Gottlieb, Chaim Soutine, Ben Shahn and Jack Levine infuse traditional themes with contemporary relevance. This magnificent gift book is a rich repository of Jewish history, life and art. (Nov.)