"This study reconceptulizes a striking but enigmatic moment in Rembrandt's art from the 1650s, one of the artist's most prolific and creative periods. Michael Zell, identifying a significant theological shift in the artist's use of religious imagery, interprets it in light of the unique religious and social conditions of seventeenth-century Amsterdam. Rembrandt's biblical art has generally been regarded as embodying a Protestant aesthetic.

By looking more closely at the artist's relationship with his patron Rabbi Menasseh ben Israel and the ideas of a group of "philosemitic" Protestants with whom the rabbi was engaged in a dialogue, Zell deepens and complicates our understanding of Rembrandt's sacred art from this period.".

"Philosemitism was a Protestant movement that sought reconcilation and understanding between Christians and Jews in the hope that the Jews ultimately would be led to recognize Christ as the fulfillment of God's covenant with them. To set the stage for Rembrandt's encounter with this movement and with the influential Rabbi Menasseh, Zell sketches the history of the Jewish communities in Amsterdam and examines how members of these communities interacted with Dutch visual culture.

He then offers a trenchant and persuasively argued analysis of Rembrandt's religious art of these years, especially the prints. Zell's perceptive accounts of these important works reveal how often they coalesce around the theme of Christ's renewal of Mosaic Law, thereby visually underscoring the Christological unity of the Old and New Testaments. This thematic preoccupation, Zell suggests, grew out of, and commented on, Rembrandt's encounter with philosemitism.".

"This book embeds Rembrandt's art in the pluralistic religious context of seventeenth-century Amsterdam, arguing for the restoration of this historical dimension to contemporary discussions of the artists. By incorporating this perspective, Zell confirms and revises one of the most forceful myths attached to Rembrandt's art and life: his presumed attraction and sensitivity to the Jews of early modern Amsterdam."--BOOK JACKET.