Reality and Imagination: Rembrandt and the Jews in the Dutch Republic

Ferdinand Bol, Judah and Tamar (detail), 1644, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Photo: © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

n the 17th century, Jews played a critical role in the vibrant visual culture of the Dutch Republic—as patrons, collectors, and subjects of art, particularly in the work of Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669) and his circle. Living in the heart of Amsterdam’s Jewish district, Rembrandt received commissions from his Jewish neighbors, incorporated them into biblical scenes, and depicted them in character studies.

Organized by the MFA’s Center for Netherlandish Art in collaboration with a seminar of undergraduate and graduate students at Boston University, this exhibition draws on the MFA’s collection of Dutch art and Judaica to explore the different ways Jews interacted with the artistic culture of Holland in the 1600s. Varied objects—from paintings and prints by Rembrandt and his school to one of the oldest surviving pairs of Dutch silver Torah finials (rimonim)—embody the visibility and agency of Jews in the religiously diverse Dutch Republic.