A Portrait of the Philosopher as a Young Art Historian: Martin Buber’s Early Texts on Jewish Art, 1901–1903

Abstract This essay re-examines Martin Buber’s early writings on Jewish art (1901–1903), which are typically framed solely as expressions of his cultural Zionism. I argue, however, that they also reflect his formative aspirations as an art historian, deeply engaged with the intellectual tools and methods of his time. Drawing on his training with the Vienna School’s Franz Wickhoff, Julius von Schlosser, and Alois Riegl, Buber traced Jewish art as a historical evolution in perception – from an ancient, aural, anti-visual disposition to a modern, visually expressive culture. Rather than nationalist or essentialist, his narrative is historicist: modern Jewish artists like Lesser Ury emerge not by rupture but through shifting spiritual, sensory, and cultural conditions. Central to Buber’s analysis is the beholder’s role, influenced by Riegl’s theories, which makes the Jewish viewer an active participant in meaning-making. Through close readings of Buber’s early writings and his interpretation of Ury’s artworks, my essay shows how Buber envisioned Jewish art as a modern form of religious experience supporting Zionist goals while also addressing spiritual and cultural renewal.