Jésus âgé de douze ans au Temple

When this went on show at Munich's international art exhibition in 1879, it caused a genuine political storm. Liebermann, a young Jewish painter, had shown Jesus as an ordinary barefoot boy arguing with the temple elders, and critics erupted. One called the child the ugliest Jewish boy imaginable. The row reached the floor of the Bavarian parliament, where a deputy said Liebermann should have known better than to touch the subject at all. It landed just as organised antisemitism was gaining ground across Germany. Stung by the reaction, Liebermann later reworked the picture, softening the boy's features and lightening his hair. What hangs in Hamburg today is that calmed-down second version.