GENESIS IN ART
From Creation to Joseph:
Biblical Stories in European and Jewish Painting

The Book of Genesis - Bereishit - is the great story of beginnings: the creation of the world, the first humans, the birth of moral choices, family conflicts, exile, covenant, hope and much more.

Across centuries, the stories of Genesis have found visual forms. From Renaissance and Baroque masters to medieval Jewish manuscripts and modern Jewish art, Genesis became a source of visual reflection - shaped by faith, tradition, and historical experience.

In this two-part series, we'll see how the stories of Genesis were translated into images: from monumental frescoes and dramatic canvases to illuminated manuscripts and modern interpretations created in Europe and Israel.

January 13, Tuesday Part I. From Creation to the Flood: Shaping the World and Human Experience

The first part is devoted to the opening chapters of Genesis - stories that move from the birth of the Universe to conflict, and from innocence to responsibility.

We will focus on the Creation of the world and of Adam and Eve; Cain and Abel and the first violence in our human history; the Flood and the covenant with Noah

Masterpieces by Michelangelo, Titian, Rubens, Rembrandt, and Caravaggio show how European painting gave visual form to divine power, human vulnerability, sin, punishment, and mercy.

Alongside these works, we turn to medieval Jewish illuminated manuscripts, where the same biblical narratives were approached differently, without monumental figures or Christian theology,but through symbolism and the close dialogue between text and image.

January 15, Thursday Part II. The Patriarchs and Joseph: Family, Covenant, and Destiny

The second part moves from cosmic beginnings to deeply human stories - the lives of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph.

We focus on the Binding of Isaac as one of the most charged scenes in the Bible, and on how artists interpreted this moment in strikingly different ways, investing it with fear, obedience, compassion or hope.

We turn to Rembrandt’s The Jewish Bride, linked to the story of Isaac and Rebecca, and discuss how a biblical narrative could become an image of intimacy, tenderness, and human connection.

Finally, we look at the figure of Joseph and at how his story came to occupy a central place in Western art.

Together we will compare classical European painting with Jewish interpretations including artists of the Jewish diaspora and Israeli artists who re-imagined Genesis in the shadow of modern history.

This part shows how Genesis never stopped speaking and how Jewish artists, especially in the new era, reclaimed these stories as personal, national, and timeless narratives.