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Die
Trauung, 1866 (The Wedding)
The
Jewish Museum, New York
Gift
of the Oscar and Regina Gruss Charitable and Education Foundation, Inc.
Photo: John Parnell, New York
Oppenheim painted for
an audience of emancipated Jews who were consistently exposed to the religious
criticism of Christian compatriots that viewed Jewish religious practice
as stilted and legalistic. The Jewish wedding, for example, was seen as
a civic event that served to seal a financial agreement, instead of as
a full-fledged religious ceremony. Attempting to dispel Christian prejudice
and instill pride in his fellow Jews, Oppenheim portrayed Jewish ceremonies
such as the wedding in this picture an event of authentic religious feeling
and expression.
In this
painting, the ceremony takes place in the open air outside the synagogue,
indicating a joyful mood surrounding the celebration. At the same time,
Oppenheim skillfully conveys the ceremony's solemnity through the bride
and groom's sober comportment and the two decanters of wine on the tray
at the left. With his draped prayer shawl, the Rabbi is clearly marked
as coming from Eastern Europe, and is presiding in accordance with late
medieval Ashkenazi practice.[*]
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