MyJewishLearning.com article on Pissarro, born collectors, biblical women, holy pictures
December 20th, 2009 by Menachem Wecker
“I always say that people are either born as collectors or they don’t collect at all,” says Willy Lindwer, who evidently was born to collect Judaica and Israeli/Palestinian artifacts to the extent his wife “almost threw me out of the house.”
My article on Camille Pissarro, rebbe of the Impressionists, appears in MyJewishLearning.com.
“There isn’t too terribly much” about women in scripture, “and many times what is mentioned isn’t exactly flattering,” writes Christine Rappleye in Mormon Times. Unsurprisingly, Camille Fronk Olson, author of Women of the Old Testament found the earlier women (like Rebecca, Leah, Rachel, etc.) were harder to research. Luckily she had the help of artist (and former student) Elspeth Young.
“When I came to visit the great art galleries of Ireland, Britain and continental Europe I saw where the provenence [sic] of European art lay: in holy pictures,” writes Mary Kenny in the Guardian. I disagree that “Catholic – and certainly Latin – culture is picture-orientated, while Protestant – and Nordic – cultures are text-orientated,” but I think Kenny is quite right to say, “You cannot understand European art without a knowledge of Christian (and Jewish) traditions.”