Our rare watercolor depicts the interior of a synagogue.

Inside the small temple, some rabbis are depicted reading the sacred scriptures, while two characters in the foreground, outlined with humorous characters, are engaged in a lively discussion.

On the back wall of the synagogue between two arches, there is a verse from Psalm 79.4.

written in Hebrew: We have become objects of derision for our neighbors, objects of mockery and derision for those around us;verse that might allude to the irreverent behavior of the man with the hat in the foreground.

On the right side wall is depicted the sacred wardrobe or Aron with the Menorah, the seven-branched candelabrum painted above the tympanum. On the left of the Aron is Psalm 46, 8: "The Lord of hosts is with us is a refuge for us the God of Jacob", while on the right are written the names of the three biblical booksPsalms, Proverbs, Job.

This synagogue, although not identified, could be a place of worship in Switzerland, the painter's birthplace, or in Germany, the country in which Hess worked.

Hieronymus Hess (1799-1850) made a trip to Italy in his youth, staying first in Naples and then in Rome. A famous depiction of the interior of a synagogue dates back to this period, reproduced in print several times, where also in this case there are numerous characters depicted with caricatured features. 

 H.Hess, Synagogue interior at Rome