Description:
"Cultural Exchange shows that Jews adopted many aspects of Christian art in works made for them. The book's arguments shine through and the exploration of cross-fertilization, most particularly the frescoes and decorations discovered in medieval and early modern Jewish houses in Swiss and German lands, is a tour de force. This important and creative book brings fresh information and insights to bear on fundamental issues of cross-cultural interaction."--William Chester Jordan, Princeton University
"This valuable book supports the view that medieval Jews in northern Europe, Iberia, and other Mediterranean societies were open to the style and iconography of their Christian neighbors, despite the protest of Jewish and Christian authorities. While other books on medieval Jewish economic activity, religious customs, and illuminated Hebrew manuscripts have made this case, no other book provides a comprehensive state of the field for researchers and general readers alike."--Ivan G. Marcus, Yale University
Review Quotes: "Clearly, this book is only the beginning of a series of works dedicated to the study of material links between medieval Jewish and Christian communities and of the interdependence they unveil. And we can only hope that its successors will keep up the high standards of writing and methodological expertise established in Cultural Exchange by Joseph Shatzmiller."---Andor Kelenhegyi, European Review of History