The High Holidays

Bernard Picart

1725

Print depicting two scenes with French text under frames: top shows men in prayer shawls sitting while one man on central platform sounds a ram's horn. Bottom image shows men in prayer shawls sitting and standing in room with several lit candles.
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Between 1723 and 1737, illustrator Bernard Picart partnered with the Dutch bookseller, editor, and publisher Jean-Frédéric Bernard on Cérémonies et coutumes religieuses de tous les peuples du monde (Religious Ceremonies and Customs of All the Peoples of the World), that included more than 266 plates by Picart. It was the most famous encyclopedic work on religion of its time, and is considered the first global, comparative vision of religion. It was condemned by the Catholic Church but was a success with the public and was translated immediately into Dutch and later into English and German. It was reprinted many times. The book included depictions of Jewish religious practices in Amsterdam, focusing on the wealthy Sephardic community. Here, two scenes from the high holidays are depicted, (top) the blowing of the shofar (ram’s horn) on Rosh Hashanah and (bottom) men at prayer in a synagogue on Yom Kippur.

Credits

Bernard Picart, Blazen van de ramshoorn op joods nieuwjaar / Viering van Grote Verzoendag. Inwijding van de Portugese Synagoge te Amsterdam, 1675, 1725. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 5.

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Related Guide

Early Modern Jewish Languages

1500–1750

As Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews migrated eastward, Yiddish and Ladino emerged as distinct languages. Both languages developed literary traditions, as print became more widespread.

Print of seated person in large hat and robes facing to the left smoking a very long pipe.
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Related Guide

Early Modern Literature and the Arts

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Jewish literary creativity flourished in the early modern period, dominated by Hebrew poetry that blended religious themes with Renaissance forms.

Creator Bio

Bernard Picart

1673–1733

Bernard Picart (also known as Picard) was a French draftsman, engraver, and illustrator best known for his 266 engravings in Cérémonies et coutumes religieuses de tous les peuples du monde (Religious Ceremonies and Customs of All the People of the World; 1723–1737). Born in Paris, the son of Etienne Picart, a famous engraver, he settled in Amsterdam in the early eighteenth century and established a printing workshop and engraving school.

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