Renewal of Vows on the Scroll of the Law

Renewal of Vows on The Scroll of the Law depicts the beginning of the celebration of Simchat Torah, a joyous festival, when Jews celebrate the completion of the reading the Torah (or the Five Books of the Law) for the year, before starting again. During the morning service, two portions from the Torah are read: the final passage from Deuteronomy recounting the death of Moses, and the opening passage from Genesis which recounts the Creation.

Solomon’s earliest works, mostly on Old Testament subjects, were inspired by Jewish culture and tradition, the bible and Shakespeare. However, this work was completed much later in his career. Strictly, there are a number of inaccuracies: for instance, the Torah, although depicted as a scroll is not wound around a roller and only one of the Rabbis is dressed in pure white (denoting purity). However, Solomon had long been interested in the aesthetic qualities of the practice of faith and depicted Catholic, Coptic and Greek Orthodox Christian, as well as Jewish, practice. He was also interested in Buddhism. His depictions of ritual, like this one, therefore often show young men in idealised roles as rabbis, priests, or acolytes, often rapt with religious fervour, and he is concerned to express the emotional experience of religious devotion rather than accurately depicting its practice. By this time, Simeon was also no longer an observant Jew and was probably drawing on memories of ceremonies he would have seen as a child.