On Mon, 13 Nov 2006 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Wow! This stirred up a really vague memory of an article I read, > probably 15 years ago about a special blue dye--if memory serves, it > came from the Mediterranean, and was, similar to Tyrian purple, a > shell-fish based vat dye. And it was used by the Hebrews and, again > if I'm remembering right, had a ritual significance.
If it's shellfish-based, it would be unlikely to be used by the Hebrews, at least not post-Sinai, as it would be considered unclean per the kosher law in Leviticus. It's worth noting, though, that actual Jewish practice may or may not be relevant to color symbolism in Christian painting. Time and place are particularly relevant here. In some Christian art, Jews are signified by elements of clothing that were designated to Jews by law in a particular place at a particular time. So, depending on where and when the art was produced, you might see pointed hats, or yellow badges, or stripes, or other devices to designate Jewish characters -- but not all at the same time or place, and the same elements might mean something quite different in another school of art. Blue is a traditionally "Jewish" color (the Israeli flag echoes that), but I can't recall hearing that this is apparent in Christian art, though perhaps at some time and place it was. In medieval Christian art, ultramarine blue has long been associated with the Virgin -- usually in her mantle or robe -- because it was the most expensive available pigment. (That particular shade is distinct from the woad/indigo blue that was available for clothing.) For the same reason, artists in various periods used ultramarine blue to designate certain saints, kings, or important figures in paintings. I remember noticing significant use of ultramarine blue at an exhibit of paintings by the Gentilischis (both father and daughter), and they painted a lot of Judiths and other Biblical heroines, but I don't know if that was a "Jewish" thing in particular or just an "important person" designator. By contrast, their Jewish heroines often had turban-like headwraps, fringes, and other elements of dress that clearly meant to mark them as Jews/Biblical characters. But now I am way out of my depth, as I don't have much familiarity with color symbolism in Italian Renaissance or Baroque art. Someone else may have a better clue here. --Robin _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list [email protected] http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
