Friday, December 20, 2013

Discovery and Sale of Moritz Daniel Oppenheim's Painting The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara

 
Moritz Daniel Oppenheim.  The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara (1862)Photo: Sotheby's.
 
Discovery and Sale of Moritz Daniel Oppenheim's Painting The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara
by Samuel D. Gruber

A very important art historical discovery - the lost 1862 painting by Moritz Daniel Oppenheim of the Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara (If I had known it, it would have been in my just-ended Jewish Art course).  This event was - until the Dreyfus Affair later in the century - probably the most internationally followed and most opposed state legal action against Jews in the 19th century. As historian David Kertzer points out in this article - interview, it has far-reaching consequences. Read the article - but then go read David's page-turner of a book - The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara. I'm looking forward to his new book - previewed here - about Pope Pius XI and Mussolini.
 

Read the article by Maya Benton in Tablet:

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