Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam, Interior
Around the time of his move to Amsterdam, the Dutch painter Emanuel de Witte began to produce architectural paintings, particularly of church interiors and other grand buildings. He was interested in perspective and contrasts of light and shadow; his paintings often depicted animals and people inside the architectural space. The impressive Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam, constructed between 1671 and 1675, attracted many non-Jewish visitors, and indeed some can be seen in this painting. Interestingly, as in some of de Witte’s paintings of churches, here dogs—a symbol of the loyalty of religious worshipers to their faith—appear inside the synagogue. De Witte made three paintings of the Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam.
Credits
Emanuel de Witte, 1680, Interieur van de Portugese synagoge te Amsterdam. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.
Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 5.
You may also like
Portrait of Francisco Lopes Suasso as a Young Man
Don Francisco (Abraham Israel) Lopes Suasso (ca. 1657–1710) was a prominent financier of Portuguese Jewish heritage. In 1688, he lent Prince William of Orange two million guilders, enabling him to…
A Memento Mori
A Memento Mori is one of three vanitas pictures in a series commissioned by Isaac de Matatia Aboab, a wealthy East India merchant, emphasizing the impermanence of material pleasures and the transitory…
Portrait of Hezekiah da Silva
Born in Livorno, Tuscany, in 1656, Hezekiah ben David de Silva was a scholar best known for his halakhic work Peri ḥadash (New Fruit). De Silva studied in Syria and later headed a yeshiva in Jerusalem…
Portrait of Samson Wertheimer
Samson Wertheimer (1658–1724) occupied a number of prominent roles, including court Jew, Austrian financier, and chief rabbi of Hungary and Moravia. This portrait was painted around the time when he…
Daughters of Francisco Lopes Suasso
Don Francisco (Abraham Israel) Lopes Suasso (ca. 1657–1710), a prominent financier of Portuguese Jewish heritage, had ten children with his second wife, Leonora (Rachel) da Costa (1669–1749). In this…
Five Children of Francisco Lopes Suasso
Don Francisco (Abraham Israel) Lopes Suasso (ca. 1657–1710), a prominent financier of Portuguese Jewish heritage, had ten children with his second wife, Leonora (Rachel) da Costa (1669–1749). This…
Engage with this Source
Related Guide
Early Modern Visual and Material Culture
1500–1750
Early modern Jewish visual culture flourished, with illuminated manuscripts, ornate synagogues, and portraiture alongside increasing non-Jewish interest in Jewish customs and greater Jewish self-representation.
You may also like
Portrait of Francisco Lopes Suasso as a Young Man
Don Francisco (Abraham Israel) Lopes Suasso (ca. 1657–1710) was a prominent financier of Portuguese Jewish heritage. In 1688, he lent Prince William of Orange two million guilders, enabling him to…
A Memento Mori
A Memento Mori is one of three vanitas pictures in a series commissioned by Isaac de Matatia Aboab, a wealthy East India merchant, emphasizing the impermanence of material pleasures and the transitory…
Portrait of Hezekiah da Silva
Born in Livorno, Tuscany, in 1656, Hezekiah ben David de Silva was a scholar best known for his halakhic work Peri ḥadash (New Fruit). De Silva studied in Syria and later headed a yeshiva in Jerusalem…
Portrait of Samson Wertheimer
Samson Wertheimer (1658–1724) occupied a number of prominent roles, including court Jew, Austrian financier, and chief rabbi of Hungary and Moravia. This portrait was painted around the time when he…
Daughters of Francisco Lopes Suasso
Don Francisco (Abraham Israel) Lopes Suasso (ca. 1657–1710), a prominent financier of Portuguese Jewish heritage, had ten children with his second wife, Leonora (Rachel) da Costa (1669–1749). In this…
Five Children of Francisco Lopes Suasso
Don Francisco (Abraham Israel) Lopes Suasso (ca. 1657–1710), a prominent financier of Portuguese Jewish heritage, had ten children with his second wife, Leonora (Rachel) da Costa (1669–1749). This…