In the 17th century, Amsterdam’s Jewish district, the Jodenbuurt, was home to the descendants of Sephardic Jews who had been expelled from Spain and Portugal in the 15th century, as well as Ashkenazi who emigrated from Central Europe. It was where, for example, the philosopher Spinoza was born in 1632. One of the most famous non-Jewish residents of the Jodebuurt was Rembrandt, who moved into a house on Jodenbreestraat in 1639. This exhibition mines the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston to give a sense of Judaism’s place in the cultural milieu of Rembrandt and his peers, displaying portraits and biblical scenes featuring Jewish sitters – among them the Portuguese physician Ephraim Bonus – as well as works commissioned by prominent Dutch Jews, works by contemporaries such as Ferdinand Bol, and historical objects, including a pair of ornate Dutch Torah finials made in 1649 (until 1 December).
Find out more from the MFA Boston’s website
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