God, Self and Other in the Sarajevo Haggadah: An Iconographic Analysis

Bunčić, Aleksandra. (2015). God, Self and Other in the Sarajevo Haggadah: An Iconographic Analysis. PhD Thesis. Filozofski fakultet u Zagrebu, Department of Art History.
(Poslijediplomski doktorski studij povijesti umjetnosti) [mentor Milinović, Dino].

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Abstract

This dissertation examines the various ways in which God’s presence and Jews and non-Jews were depicted in an extraordinary manuscript produced for Jews known as the Sarajevo Haggadah, through a consideration of the manuscript’s art historical, intellectual and local contexts. Through a careful iconographic analysis, my dissertation explores the various ways in which God’s presence was depicted in the images illustrating the key biblical events. My research argues the meaning of the different depictions of God’s presence (for example, golden rays) and their correspondence to different attributes or actions of God (such as act of creation or communication). Another intrigue aspect of the illuminations of the Sarajevo Haggadah is the lack of distinction in portrayals of Jews and non-Jews. My research interprets these differences as images of self-perception of Jews in medieval Catalonia as well as the state of Jewish-Christian relations. Engaged study of these aspects (God, Self and Other) with the study of medieval book workshop allows me to contrast artistic and intellectual dynamics between Jews and Christians and to better understand representational choices in medieval illuminated manuscripts. By examining the images in the Sarajevo Haggadah my dissertation provides the key to unlocking some of the Sarajevo Haggadah’s most intractable iconographic mysteries.

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