Artibus et Historiae no. 17 (IX)
1988, ISSN 0391-9064Up
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MOSHE BARASCH - Reflection on Tombstones: Childhood Memories
The article is devoted to the images found on some of the mid-eighteenth- to nineteenth-century tombstones in the Jewish cemetery of Czernowitz, the author's hometown. As tombstones are a product of an essentially social art, the social conditions in which the tombstones were produced are examined. in particular, the author illustrates who the carvers were and how they were trained. Then the artistic treatment of the tombstones is discussed. Especially the script and the decorative motifs are the subject of closer scrutiny. The writer concludes than an interpretation of the tombstones holds the key to an understanding of the complex and rich community life of an irrevocably lost culture, which has yet to receive the attention it deserves.
