Yeshiva University Museum

The Arch of Titus –
from Rome to Jerusalem, and Back

An International Conference
organized by

Yeshiva University Museum and the
Yeshiva University Center for Israel Studies

Cosponsored by the Bernard Revel Graduate School for Jewish Studies,
Yeshiva University

Sunday, October 29, 2017, 9:00am-5:00pm
Yeshiva University Museum
at the Center for Jewish History
15 West 16th St, Manhattan

The Arch of Titus, built to commemorate Roman triumph in the Jewish War of 66-74 CE, has stood as a touchstone of Western civilization for nearly 2000 years. This conference explores the shifting meaning and significance of this monument – for the victorious Romans, for the defeated Jews, and for both Christians and Jews over the subsequent millennia.

The conference stretches from the Roman era to the present. Bringing together an international team of scholars, this gathering will explore the image and symbolism of the Arch from various vantage points – from emperors and popes to Jews and Christians who re-interpreted the meaning of the Arch in modern times.

Schedule
Registration, 8:30-9:00am

9:00am Welcome
Jacob Wisse, Director, Yeshiva University Museum
Steven Fine, Director, Yeshiva University Center for Israel Studies

9:10-11:15am The Roman Context
Chair: Katherine Welch, New York University
Samuele Rocca, University of Haifa
The Arch of Titus and Flavius Josephus: Commemorating the Jewish War in Word and Stone
Pier Tucci, Johns Hopkins University
The Spoils of Jerusalem, from the Great Temple to the Temple of Peace
Ida Östenberg, University of Goteborg
The Arch of Titus: Triumph and Apotheosis in Ancient Rome

11:15am-12:00pm The Spoils of Jerusalem in Color: The Making of a Polychrome Model
Moderator: Helen Evans, TheMetropolitan Museum of Art
Donald H. Sanders, VIZIN: The Institute for the Visualization of History
Peter M. Schertz, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Steven Fine, Yeshiva University

12:00-1:00pm Break

12:30pm Gallery Tour of Arch of Titus exhibition. Jill Joshowitz, Yeshiva University Museum

1:00-3:00pm From Late Antiquity to Early Modern Europe
Chair: Robert Chazan, New York University
Galit Hasan-Rokem, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
A Narrative Triumph: The Rabbis Write Back to the Empire​
Marie Champagne, Florida State University, Pensacola
Pagan Rome in the Service of the Church: Christian Perceptions of the Arch of Titus in the Middle Ages
William Stenhouse, Yeshiva University
Early Modern Visitors to the Arch of Titus

3:00-3:15pm Coffee break

3:15-5:00pm The Arch of Titus in the Modern World
Chair: Marnin Young, Yeshiva University
Jacob Wisse, Yeshiva University
Pilgrimage to the Arch of Titus in Early Modern Art
Elizabeth Macaulay-Lewis, City University of New York
From Rome to New York: The Afterlife of the Arch of Titus
Steven Fine, Yeshiva University
The Arch of Titus as a Place of Modern Jewish Memory

Concluding Comments: Selma Botman, Academic Vice President, Yeshiva University