The Absurd Jewish Memorial at Frankfurt am Main Woodcut of Jews riding goats and pigs with the Devil
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 7.250 inches (18.415 cm) | Width: 8.875 inches (22.543 cm)
Creator(s)
- Peter Ehrenthal (Compiler)
Biographical History
The Katz Ehrenthal Collection is a collection of more than 900 objects depicting Jews and antisemitic and anti-Jewish propaganda from the medieval to the modern era, in Europe, Russia, and the United States. The collection was amassed by Peter Ehrenthal, a Romanian Holocaust survivor, to document the pervasive history of anti-Jewish hatred in Western art, politics and popular culture. It includes crude folk art as well as pieces created by Europe's finest craftsmen, prints and periodical illustrations, posters, paintings, decorative art, and toys and everyday household items decorated with depictions of stereotypical Jewish figures.
Archival History
The engraving was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2016 by the Katz Family.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of the Katz Family
Funding Note: The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
Scope and Content
The engraving is one of the more than 900 items in the Katz Ehrenthal Collection of antisemitic artifacts and visual materials.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Woodcut in black ink on paper adhered to paper depicting, in the foreground, the devil directing 3 Jewish men in bestial acts. The devil, on the far right, with 2 long horns and wearing a gown, stands with his raised arms waving toward the men in a field to the on the right. The men have beards and prominent noses and wear jackets and breeches; 2 wear brimmed hats and 1 a skullcap. In the center is a man seated on a left facing ram, pulling the reins and raising the whip. The ram defecates in a long stream; another man kneels behind, watching in expectation. The man on the left sits backwards astride a large, bucking sheep, holdings it tail up. In the background are round hills; an oversized boy crawls a top the hill on the left. To the right is a church. The images is drawn within a rectangular frame with a round, arched top. In the upper right corner is a page number and the title is printed below in Dutch. The paper has torn edges and handwritten markings on the back.
A
Subjects
- Jews--Caricatures and cartoons--Netherlands--18th century.
- Antisemitism in art.
- Antisemitism--Netherlands--History--18th century--Pictorial works.
- Jews in art.
Genre
- Art
- Object