Portrait of a Man with a Hebrew Tablet
This full-scale portrait of an unidentified man is remarkable in that he presents a stone tablet with a Hebrew inscription. The portrait was most likely painted in the northern Italian city of Cremona, which was an important cultural and economic center that was home to a large Jewish community in the 1400s and 1500s. The tablet’s prominent text—which translates as "The Torah of Moses is the Truth"—is a multilayered expression of Jewish faith and knowledge that also emphasizes the power of the written word.
Artwork Details
- Title: Portrait of a Man with a Hebrew Tablet
- Artist: Antonio Campi (Italian, Cremona 1523–1587 Cremona)
- Date: ca. 1575
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 39 1/2 × 32 1/8 in. (100.4 × 81.6 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Purchase, Dina Axelrad Perry, Albert Kalimian, in memory of Victoria and Rouhollah Kalimian, Kirsh Foundation, Keren Keshet - The Rainbow Foundation, The New York Community Trust-Florence S. Daniels Fund, Ruth and Andrew Suzman, Maimonides Fund, Mark Fisch, and Susan and Ed Falk Gifts, 2024
- Object Number: 2024.138
- Curatorial Department: European Paintings
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