Self-portrait by Rembrandt at age 34On December 4, the Interfaith Leadership Council of Metropolitan Detroit (IFLC) will present a unique opportunity to examine interfaith culture with the symposium “Religion, Community and the Arts: Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges” at the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA). Held in conjunction with the DIA’s special exhibit Rembrandt and the Face of Jesus, the symposium will include an interfaith expert panel and guided tour of the Dutch master’s paintings, prints and drawings portraying Jesus and other events in the Bible.
One noteworthy feature of the Rembrandt collection, shown only at the Louvre in Paris, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the DIA, is Rembrandt’s use of a Jewish model to represent Jesus--a radical move in seventeenth century Europe. Reviewing the Philadelphia exhibit, the Wall Street Journal noted: “In the middle of his long career, we learn, Rembrandt began to portray Jesus with features subtly resembling those of contemporary Amsterdam Jews, a move starkly at odds with artistic tradition, yet in no way contrary to the text of the Bible.” Time magazine notes Rembrandt “changed our image of Christ from remote divinity to man on the street.”
Nancy Thayer, IFLC board member and local artist on faculty at the University of Michigan School of Art & Design, links the Rembrandt exhibit to current interfaith tensions worldwide. “Rembrandt broke barriers among the faith communities in his environment--barriers that we are challenged by even today,” she said. “This event is a process of education and understanding vital to breaking down misconceptions and misunderstandings in our day and time.”
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Thursday, December 15, 2011 at 9:25AM 
Howard Lupovich
Susan McGarry
Saeed Kahn