Private Synagogue (Unterlimpurg, Germany)

Eliezer Zusman of Brody

1738/9

Photograph of room with wood walls painted with Hebrew text, animals, and floral designs. — This synagogue structure contains stunning samples of wood painting and folk motifs (including verses, images of Jerusalem, animals, and flowers). The panels were decorated by Eliezer Zusman, who also painted the Horb Synagogue and several others. Constructed on the second, top floor of a house, the Unterlimpurg synagogue fell out of use in the early nineteenth century. The wooden panels were preserved, hidden from Nazi authorities, and eventually transferred to their current installation in the Hällisch-Fränkisches Museum in the German town of Schwäbisch Hall.

Close-up photograph of wood wall painted with foliage and image of elephant carrying castle and upside-down deer. — This synagogue structure contains stunning samples of wood painting and folk motifs (including verses, images of Jerusalem, animals, and flowers). The panels were decorated by Eliezer Zusman, who also painted the Horb Synagogue and several others. Constructed on the second, top floor of a house, the Unterlimpurg synagogue fell out of use in the early nineteenth century. The wooden panels were preserved, hidden from Nazi authorities, and eventually transferred to their current installation in the Hällisch-Fränkisches Museum in the German town of Schwäbisch Hall.

This synagogue structure contains stunning samples of wood painting and folk motifs (including verses, images of Jerusalem, animals, and flowers). The panels were decorated by Eliezer Zusman, an artisan who painted German synagogues, including ones in Horb, Kirchheim, Ellrich, Colmberg, and Bechhofen. Constructed on the second, top floor of a house, the Unterlimpurg synagogue fell out of use in the early nineteenth century. The wooden panels were preserved, hidden from Nazi authorities, and eventually transferred to their current installation in the Hällisch-Fränkisches Museum in the German town of Schwäbisch Hall.

Credits

Wall Paintings (1739/9). Courtesy Hällisch-Fränkisches Museum, Schwäbisch Hall (Jürgen Weller, Fotografie, Schwäbisch Hall).
Wall Paintings (1738/9). Courtesy Hällisch-Fränkisches Museum, Schwäbisch Hall (Jürgen Weller, Fotografie, Schwäbisch Hall).

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 5.

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Creator Bio

Eliezer Zusman of Brody

18th Century

Eliezer Zusman of Brody (alternatively, Elieser Sussman) was a Jewish painter credited with introducing the traditional East European type of synagogue decoration to southern Germany in the early eighteenth century. His signature style is found in several synagogues in Bavaria. Zusman may have been invited to southern Germany as a professional craftsman or might have gone there seeking a better life and refuge from instability in Poland. He painted his first synagogue, Bechhofen, in 1732.

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