Jerusalem South African Alumni Association

JERUSALEM SOUTH AFRICAN ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

The latest semiannual meeting of the Jerusalem South African Alumni

Association took place on the evening of 9th July 2008, at the

International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem. The guest speaker was

Professor Irving M. Spitz, a graduate of Witwatersrand University and

Professor of Medicine and Endocrinology at the Weill Medical College

of Cornell University and Ben Gurion University of the Negev. Prof.

Spitz who specializes in reproductive endocrinology spoke on the

subject:

Images of Pregnancy in Western Art: an Odyssey over 30,000 Years

He illustrated his talk with striking audiovisual images, beginning

with a statuette representing a fertility figure dating back to

28,000 B.C.E. She had a large protruding abdomen and prominent

breasts. The first demonstration of a pregnant women in recorded

history was found in Israel and dates from 4500 BCE. He then showed

representations of pregnancy discovered in ancient Egypt and the Near

East. The perception of beauty in classical Greece did not favour

depictions of pregnancy, which are therefore very few and only seen

in funeral stellae.

The Renaissance elicited considerably more images of pregnancy,

especially in Britain where they were commissioned by their

husbands. Many women died in childbirth during that period and the

paintings were a means of perpetuating their memory. There are also

examples from Northern Europe but few from Italy.

Paintings of the New Testament depicted Mary and Elizabeth, the

mother of John the Baptist, meeting when they were both

pregnant. This is known as the Visitation.

Representations of pregnant women became more common after 1870 and

there are striking examples from Berthe Morisot, Degas, van Gogh,

Chagall and Picasso, amongst many others.

A revolution in the perception of pregnancy was brought about by the

famous American photographer Annie Leibovitz, whose photograph of

film star Demi Moore, 7 months into her pregnancy, appeared on the

cover of Vanity Fair in August 1991. This picture of a naked

pregnant woman succeeded in escalating images of pregnancy into very

high financial brackets. Many famous personalities have since

appeared in the tabloids at various stages of pregnancy in varying

states of undress.

This fascinating talk was enjoyed by an audience of 40 alumni, their

spouses and guests.

With best wishes,

Sinai Rome

Convenor