The High Holidays

Bernard Picart

1725

Print depicting two scenes with French text under frames: top shows men in prayer shawls sitting while one man on central platform sounds a ram's horn. Bottom image shows men in prayer shawls sitting and standing in room with several lit candles.

Between 1723 and 1737, illustrator Bernard Picart partnered with the Dutch bookseller, editor, and publisher Jean-Frédéric Bernard on Cérémonies et coutumes religieuses de tous les peuples du monde (Religious Ceremonies and Customs of All the Peoples of the World), that included more than 266 plates by Picart. It was the most famous encyclopedic work on religion of its time, and is considered the first global, comparative vision of religion. It was condemned by the Catholic Church but was a success with the public and was translated immediately into Dutch and later into English and German. It was reprinted many times. The book included depictions of Jewish religious practices in Amsterdam, focusing on the wealthy Sephardic community. Here, two scenes from the high holidays are depicted, (top) the blowing of the shofar (ram’s horn) on Rosh Hashanah and (bottom) men at prayer in a synagogue on Yom Kippur.

Credits

Bernard Picart, Blazen van de ramshoorn op joods nieuwjaar / Viering van Grote Verzoendag. Inwijding van de Portugese Synagoge te Amsterdam, 1675, 1725. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 5.

Engage with this Source

Creator Bio

Bernard Picart

1673–1733

Bernard Picart (also known as Picard) was a French draftsman, engraver, and illustrator best known for his 266 engravings in Cérémonies et coutumes religieuses de tous les peuples du monde (Religious Ceremonies and Customs of All the People of the World; 1723–1737). Born in Paris, the son of Etienne Picart, a famous engraver, he settled in Amsterdam in the early eighteenth century and established a printing workshop and engraving school.

You may also like

Print of two scenes, both with French text below: the top of baby on man's lap surrounded by people with bed in background, the bottom showing many people in ornate room with baby crib.
Tooltip info icon

Circumcision Ceremony

Between 1723 and 1737, illustrator Bernard Picart partnered with the Dutch bookseller and publisher Jean-Frédéric Bernard on Cérémonies et coutumes religieuses de tous les peuples du monde (Religious…
View Source
Torah shield decorated with vine-wrapped columns on either side, crowns across the top, and three smaller shields hanging from bottom.
Tooltip info icon

Torah Shield

This Torah shield was cast in silver in Hamburg, Germany. Partly gilt and adorned with precious stones, four crowns sit at its center, framed by symmetrical columns on either side that are encircled…
View Source
Topographic map, with place names in columns on left and right side and Spanish text below.
Tooltip info icon

Topographic Map of the city of Caracas

Ángel Jacob Jesurún’s topographical map of Caracas, with its geometric grid, is the first map after Venezuela’s independence to be drawn and printed by a native of the city. After decades of war and…
View Source