Shavuot (Pentecost) (Das Wochen- oder Pfingst-Fest)

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Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks, celebrates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai and falls exactly seven weeks after the second day of Passover. In biblical times, it was a harvest festival, so it is customary to decorate the synagogue with garlands of flowers, fruit, and plants.

Here, the rabbi, Torah, and Torah ark occupy center stage. Oppenheim adds spice to the solemn gathering of male worshipers with his depiction of a dizzying collection of hats, including an exotic turban. Ever the realist, he contrasts the behavior of two boys-one raises his hand in prayer while the other plays with flowers.

Source: The Jewish Museum, New York, MORITZ DANIEL OPPENHEIM: SCENES FROM FRANKFURT'S JEWISH PAST, July 2-December 10, 2000.

Provenance: the artist's family (after 1866; sold to Hermann Cramer); Hermann Cramer, Frankfurt, Germany (until d. 1919); his wife, Hedwig Cramer, Frankfurt, Germany (1919-d. 1934); her son, Sally H. Cramer, Hamburg, Germany, later London, England (1934-d.1952); his son, Robert Cramer (1952); [sale, ?London, England, about 1952]?.Oscar Gruss, New York, N.Y.(until 1999)

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Published References: Heuberger, Georg and Anton Merk, eds. MORITZ DANIEL OPPENHEIM: DIE ENTDECKUNG DES JÜDISCHEN SELBSTBEWUSSTSEINS IN DER KUNST. JEWISH IDENTITY IN 19TH CENTURY ART. Köln: Wienand, 1999, no. VI.31, pp. 295, 375.

Israel Museum, Jerusalem. MORITZ OPPENHEIM: THE FIRST JEWISH PAINTER. Exh. cat. Jerusalem. Ben-Zvi Printing Enterprises Ltd., 1983, no. III.29, p. 86.

Kleeblatt, Norman L. THE PAINTINGS OF MORITZ OPPENHEIM: JEWISH LIFE IN 19TH CENTURY GERMANY. Exh. brochure. New York: The Jewish Museum, New York, 1981.

Michel, Joan. HADASSAH JEWISH HOLIDAY COOKBOOK. Universe, 2003.

Oppenheim, Moritz. BILDER AUS DEM ALTJÜDISCHEN FAMILIEN. Frankfurt am Main, Verlag Von Heinrich Keller, 1882, no. 14.

This information may change as the result of ongoing research