ABSTRACT
Rembrandt demonstrated interest in Jews throughout his career. This study explores his images of Jews within the setting of the Temple, as well as his formulation of a presumably Jewish Jesus in the Louvre Supper at Emmaus. My investigation explores the relative accuracy of these interpretations and their underlying religious meaning. As great as the liberties he took in rendering Hebraic ritual garments and Temple architecture, in certain instances he achieved a degree of authenticity. To this end, he read his Bible and the Jewish histories of Flavius Josephus, and consulted Hebraic texts, as well as a Temple elevation by Villalpando. Most importantly, Rembrandt juxtaposed scenes of Jewish atonement with Christ, thereby asserting the Pauline concept of the superiority of Christian redemption over Judaism.
