An Image of Fanaticism 1475 AD 17th century woodcut of the so-called Martyrdom of Simon of Trent
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 7.250 inches (18.415 cm) | Width: 5.375 inches (13.653 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 of a dead boy, his naked body covered in wounds and laid out on wooden board above a scene of 5 Jews with stereotypically large, pointed noses gathered around a large sow in left profile eating feces. A man wearing breeches lies with his head beneath it, sucking on a teat. Sitting backwards astride its back, a bearded man wears a large, flattened, round hat, a neck ruff, and a cape. He lifts its tail so it can defecate into the mouth of a similarly dressed, bearded man kneeling behind it with a horned man, likely the devil, beside him encouraging him to eat. On the left, a woman wearing a headdress with rectangular wings, a neck ruff, and cape stands beside a goat, touching her breast. German captions are printed between 2 black line borders around the image.
front, bottom right corner, pencil : F back, top right corner, sticker, green ink : 10
People
- Simon, of Trent, -1475--Pictorial works.
Subjects
- Anti-Jewish propaganda--History--Germany--17th century.
- Antisemitism in art--Germany--17th century.
- Christianity and antisemitism--Pictorial works.
- Antisemitism--Germany--17th century--Pictorial works.
- Blood accusation--Germany--History--Pictorial works.
Genre
- Art
- Object