RHODOS.COM - Danish Jewish Art - Jews in Danish Art

Danish Jewish Art – Jews in Danish Art is a large and magnificently illustrated volume chronicling the Jews and their art as well as their influence on Art in Denmark from the Middle Ages up to today.No less than 12 art historians has worked for several years on this book, edited by Dr.phil. Mirjam Gelfer-Jørgensen, chief librarian, The National Art and Design Library, Danish Museum of Decorative Art

It is quite well known that the majority of Danish Jews managed to escape to Sweden just before the Nazis commenced their campaign against them October 1943. What is less well known is the story of how the Jewish cultural treasures kept in the Copenhagen Synagogue narrowly managed to escape the Nazis and destruction, the irredeemable fate of all too many European collections.

In October while German sentries were posted everywhere in Copenhagen, an ambulance drove up to the synagogue, where the attendants were able to hide the Jewish treasures from the synagogue in the ambulance. The Ambulance drove no more than a couple of hundred metres, the distance to the Protestant Trinitatis Church, before the precious cargo was offloaded to remain in the crypt under Christian protection for the duration of the war.

This is naturally only a very small chapter in the history of the Jews in Denmark. Though they were few in numbers they were prominently represented within the Danish cultural elite particularly during the last 150 years. Amongst the great Danish philanthropists were thus prominent Jews whose passion for the arts can be traced in the pre-eminent art collections they created and bequeathed to the Danish state. It is predominantly from these sources that the portrayal of Jews in Danish Art is brought forth, for instance as portrayed by the great artists of the Golden Age of Danish painting.

A chapter is dedicated to Thorah binders, richly decorated with figural motifs. The majority of these in Europe were burnt, but here the Danish ones are extensively illustrated as befitting their high artistic merit, further to which they represent a fascinating historical record of a number of Danish Jewish families.

Just as the beautiful neo-classical Synagogue in Copenhagen has a chapter to itself so does the very fine art on tombs in Jewish cemeteries throughout Denmark.

Amongst the book’s other chapters you will find one dealing with good and evil Jews as depicted in Danish medieval church frescoes. Another chapter deals with the many religious silver works, one with the textiles, another with illuminated manuscripts and paintings and one specifically with 20th century art.

This major work of 592 pages with 450 illustrations is beautifully reproduced and printed on the finest quality art paper. The binding is exclusive with its combination of cloth in two colours, gold embossed rounded back and elegantly protected with a laminated dust-jacket printed on translucent paper. Without the generous funding from a number of Danish foundations, a publication on this scale would not have been possible, let alone available at the substantially subsidised price of RRP £76.00/$148 (plus P&P).