The work will go to auction on December 19 from Sotheby's New Y “Important Judaica” with an estimate of €217,688 – €261,226.
From this thriving community would come some of the greatest treasures of the Jewish known to us today, from extraordinary silverware produced for synagogue worship to the most luxurious fabrics including Torah Ark curtains, exquisite Torah Binders and Reader's Desk cover. Among the largest Torah crowns and finials would be those made in Venice in the late XNUMXth and early XNUMXth centuries. The flowering of Jewish culture in Italy also led to a rich tradition of cantoral music and milestones such as the printing of the Bomberg Talmud.
According to the former owners of this painting, who lived on the outskirts of Siena and in whom ownership of this work resided for generations, the interior may represent the ancient Synagogue of Siena. The new Synagogue was built in 1786 and no visual trace of the old Synagogue has been found. There are other elements inside that suggest a location elsewhere in Italy. To the left of the Ark it is possible see a large throne chair, the Cathedra, typical of Rome (the synagogue of Yarei Hashem and the Scole Catalana) and also of Mantua.
As documented by Alfred Rubens in one history of Jewish custom, the Jews of the papal state were obliged to wear a characteristic yellow hat which distinguished them from the rest of the population. All of the men depicted in this painting, with the exception of the two lower left figures in black, wear yellow hats. These two gentlemen were undoubtedly non-Jewish visitors to the synagogue, who had come to hear the singing virtuosity and distinctive melodies for which Jewish services in Italy were well known. Contemporary prints such as those by Hieronymus Hess depict non-Jewish visitors to the synagogue in Rome and there are contemporary accounts of non-Jews attending synagogue services in Venice specifically to hear music.
The visitors in the current composition have chosen a high point in the Jewish calendar, the high holy days, as evidenced by the presence of a shofar on the reader's desk. Most likely the scene takes place during the Minhah or Ne'ilah service on Yom Kippur. Lighted candles signal the onset of night, and worshipers, wrapped in tallitot, are engaged in fervent prayer. The presence of women in the women's balcony also marks the solemnity of the occasion. The Shofar blowing at the end of the service marks the conclusion of the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. Through this painting we therefore have a rare document of a vibrant and entrenched community that flourished in Italy for hundreds of years. We also have a remarkably detailed depiction of a moment of great emotional intensity and deep devotion to the Jewish faith.
