Judging a Book by its Cover

Abstract

Most interpretations of Bernard Picart's encyclopedic Cérémonies et coutumes religieuses de tous les peuples du monde, published originally in Amsterdam in seven oversized volumes (1723–1737), have stressed the artist's objective portrayal of diverse religions. The opening volume has been the subject of much scholarship, particularly focusing on Picart's even-handed treatment of Judaism, a notable distinction considering the denigration of Jews in both history and art history for centuries. In this article, I aim to nuance previous assessments of Picart as an unbiased portrayer of Jews by paying special attention to his often overlooked, crucial frontispiece, which complicates his larger agenda. This allegorical opening engraving conspicuously diverges from the descriptive, straightforward pictorial language and ethnographic approach found mostly throughout Cérémonies. Closer examination of Picart's summary depiction of religions, in conjunction with ancillary visual sources, demonstrates a more partial attitude and clarifies how the artist played into a common, traditional supersessionist trope: the theological belief that the Christian church offered a fulfilment of Judaism's initial promise and thus supplanted, or nullified, God's original covenant with the Jews when Jesus's divinity was revealed.