Print of social classes based on what they give and what they take, with the Jew on top
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 12.625 inches (32.068 cm) | Width: 16.375 inches (41.593 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 print 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
Colored print of a drawing, "Les Differentes Positions Sociales" [Different Social Positions] with a stepped platform with labelled figures illustrating their class and their method of exploitation. The Jew is at the top, with a label stating that he exploits them all. The print is one of 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
Color print, muted and discolored, on treated glossy paper adhered to cardboard depicting the social classes of France arranged on a stepped platform; 3 on each side and 1 at the center top. Each place has a man dressed in a stereotypical costume for that class with an explanatory label. On the left in ascending order: a king who governs; then the gentleman who commands you; then a priest who prays for you. At the top is a Jew who makes money on all of them. On the right in descending order: the knight who defends you, the beggar who asks you for alms, and the peasant, who does as the good lord because he has to feed the other 6.
Subjects
- Antisemitism--France--19th century--Pictorial works.
- Anti-Jewish propaganda--France--19th century--Pictorial works.
- Social classes--France--19th century--Pictorial works.
- Jews in art--France--19th century--Pictorial works.
- France--Social conditions--19th century--Pictorial works.
Genre
- Object
- Art