Sabbath
Eve , 1867 Oil
on Canvas
Collection
of Sarah and Julian House, Phoenix, AZ.
from
the Exhibition Moritz Daniel Oppenheim: Jewish Identity in Nineteenth
Century Art,
YU Museum, Jan. 31 - August 31, 2001
This
painting is an example of a grisaille, or gray monochrome painting.
Oppenheim painted versions
of his color scenes as grisailles in order to reproduce the Scenes
from Traditional Jewish Family Life as lithographs for a printed picture
portfolio.
The father
in this painting blesses his children in an unusual manner
usually both hands were placed on a child's head during a blessing. The
probable source for the painting's scene may be found in an 1846 story
by Leopold Kompert. The story describes a scene where both children rush
at their father as he returns from synagogue, each competing to receive
the first blessing. The father resolves the problem by extending one hand
to each child and blessing them together.[1]
At this
Sabbath dinner, a Polish guest is present standing on the right side of
the room wearing a shtreimel (broad-brimmed fur hat). Oppenheim
depicted the figure of the Polish guest in many of his paintings. At a
time of cultural and social conflict between emancipated German Jews and
Eastern
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