{"title":"Vested Interest: Redressing Jews on Michelangelo's Sistine Ceiling","authors":"Barbara Wisch","doi":"10.2307/1483735","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"A yellow circular badge, or Jewish signum, was painted by Michelangelo on the left shoulder of Aminadab, an ancestor of Christ located prominently in the lunette above the papal throne. Although previously overlooked, the badge has profound importance. This essay explores the implications of this sign as a quintessential indicator of demeaned status in a society that demarcated Jews by imposing degrading dress codes, legislated their role as moneylenders, and subjected them to humiliating public spectacles. Michelangelo's inclusion of the badge opens new lines of inquiry about iconographic themes in the chapel, his representations of Old Testament personages, and his own attitudes toward the Jewish community. The conflicting discourses discussed in this essay underscore the complexity and deep-seated ambivalence of the role of Jews in Christian theology and society.","PeriodicalId":43492,"journal":{"name":"Artibus et Historiae","volume":"24 1","pages":"143-172"},"PeriodicalIF":0.1000,"publicationDate":"2003-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.2307/1483735","citationCount":"14","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Artibus et Historiae","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.2307/1483735","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"艺术学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"0","JCRName":"ART","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 14
Abstract
A yellow circular badge, or Jewish signum, was painted by Michelangelo on the left shoulder of Aminadab, an ancestor of Christ located prominently in the lunette above the papal throne. Although previously overlooked, the badge has profound importance. This essay explores the implications of this sign as a quintessential indicator of demeaned status in a society that demarcated Jews by imposing degrading dress codes, legislated their role as moneylenders, and subjected them to humiliating public spectacles. Michelangelo's inclusion of the badge opens new lines of inquiry about iconographic themes in the chapel, his representations of Old Testament personages, and his own attitudes toward the Jewish community. The conflicting discourses discussed in this essay underscore the complexity and deep-seated ambivalence of the role of Jews in Christian theology and society.
期刊介绍:
Artibus et Historiae is a journal dedicated to the visual arts, published by IRSA Publishing House. The lavishly illustrated articles cover a broad range of subjects, including photography and film, as well as traditional topics of scholarly art research. Artibus et Historiae particularly encourages interdisciplinary studies - art history in conjunction with other humanistic fields, such as psychology, sociology, philosophy, or literature - and unconventional approaches. Thus it is hoped that the current trends in art history will be well represented in our issues. Artibus et Historiae appears twice a year, in hardback. The articles are in one of four languages: English, Italian, German, or French, at the author"s discretion.