Painting of the Żólkiew Synagogue

Little is known about the life of Netanel Menachem Leichter. In the catalogue of the art collector who owned the painting of the Żólkiew (today Zhovkva, Ukraine) synagogue, Leichter is described as a “Jewish folk artist” who also worked as a scribe and circumciser (mohel) in Habsburg Lemberg/Lwów (today L’viv, Ukraine). This painting exemplifies the decorative plaques that sometimes adorned the eastern walls of synagogues to commemorate the glory of the Temple in Jerusalem. In this case, the glory was evoked by this rendering of the imposing fortress-style synagogue in Żólkiew, built in the late seventeenth century.