| Synagogue | |
|---|---|
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| Artist | John Singer Sargent |
| Year | 1919 |
Synagogue is an allegorical mural by John Singer Sargent in the Boston Public Library.[1] It is part of Sargent's larger Triumph of Religion mural cycle in the library's central branch at Copley Square. Synagogue was unveiled in 1919, and it sparked immediate controversy.[2] The cowering and feeble personification of the Synagogue stood in contrast with Sargent's glorified depiction of the Church in the mural cycle, and members of the Jewish community observed that the series delivered an implicit message of Jewish decline and Christian triumph.[2] Sargent was reluctant to respond publicly to criticism of the work, but privately wrote in 1919, "I am in hot water with the Jews, who resent my ‘Synagogue,’ and want to have it removed– and tomorrow a ‘prominent’ member of the Jewish colony is coming to bully me about it and ask me to explain myself. I can only refer him to Rheims, Notre Dame, Strasbourg and other Cathedrals, and dwell at length about the good old times."[2]: 233 Responding to charges that the work was antisemitic, the Massachusetts legislature passed a bill ordering the removal of the mural in 1922, but the law was soon repealed, and the work has remained in place.[2]: 236
- ^ "Synagogue". Digital Commonwealth. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
- ^ a b c d Promey, Sally M. (1997). "Sargent's Truncated Triumph: Art and Religion at the Boston Public Library, 1890-1925". The Art Bulletin. 79 (2): 217–250. doi:10.2307/3046244. ISSN 0004-3079. JSTOR 3046244.