Aniconism in Ancient and Modern Judaism

Subject Areas : Judaism

Farzane Qiyasinoei ¹ (theology faculty. ferdowsi university)
منصور Motamedi ² (دانشیار گروه ادیان و عرفان تطبیقی، دانشگاه فردوسی، مشهد، ایران)
مهدی Hasanzadeh ³ (دانشیار گروه ادیان و عرفان تطبیقی، دانشگاه فردوسی، مشهد، ایران)

Received: 2023-07-29 Accepted : 2023-12-10 Published : 2023-08-23

Keywords: Second Commandment, Jewish visual art, Aniconism, abstract art,

Abstract :

Aniconism is a relatively new term in the modern era, which was first coined to describe ancient Greek art, but later became popular with the aim of denigrating Jewish art.Simultaneously with the development of nationalist movements in post-Enlightenment Europe, art historians criticized the lack of visual and iconographic art in Jewish culture, citing the prohibition of images in the Second Commandment. Subsequent research and archeological evidence convinced some Jewish thinkers that the assumption of Jewish Aniconism originated in the 19th century. Therefore, a kind of duality arose, and while some people criticized it, others saw it as a moral and exclusive virtue in Judaism, which ultimately served controversial goals and contemporary identity-nationalist policies on the one hand, and on the other hand, It became a ground for abstract art of the 20th century. However, it cannot be denied that the Jews in some eras adhered to strict idolatry.By examining the most important aspects of the formation of iconoclastic culture in Judaism, this article shows that this culture, in the pre-modern era as well as in the modern and post-Holocaust era, was more influenced by socio-political conditions than a theological prohibition.

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