Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of Art
AT-00009301About the Artwork
The Jewish synagogue was among Magnasco's most frequently painted subjects, here presented in a mystical and imaginative way. Expansive architectural space creates room for a multitude of tiny, fantastical figures with elongated limbs. These characters respond to the service with emotion and expressive gestures. Flashes of light dash across the surface against a dark, muted palette of earthy tones suggesting an otherworldly presence. The composition invites the viewer to enter the space and experience the service. Though he used characteristic elements of Baroque composition and was strongly influenced by Venetian painting, Magnasco's loose brushwork, elongated figures, and mysterious subject matter set him apart. Magnasco peers into a world of which he was not part: he was not Jewish and probably perceived Jews as outsiders. At the dawn of the Enlightenment in Europe progressive aristocratic families commissioned paintings by Magnasco, suggesting the painter's support for Enlightenment ideals which included religious tolerance, but Magnasco's personal views on Judaism in Italy remain unknown.
Provenance
Private collection, sold Hotel Drouot, Paris, 1928 D'Atri Gallery (Paris, France) Benno Geiger, 1882-1965 (Vienna, Austria) Italico Brass (Venice, Italy), 1870-1943, sold through Harold Parsons to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1930. 1930-: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Exhibition history
The Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition: The Official Art Exhibit of the Great Lakes Exposition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 26-October 4, 1936). Masterpieces of Art from the New York and San Francisco World's Fairs. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (February 7-March 7, 1940). The Silver Jubilee Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 23-September 28, 1941). Art: The International Language. The Cleveland Museum of Art (October 2-November 4, 1956). Paths of Abstract Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (October 5-November 13, 1960). Alessandro Magnasco - 1667-1749. Palazzo Reale (organizer) (March 20-July 7, 1996).
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Alessandro Magnasco (Italian, 1667–1749)
- Date
- c. 1725–35
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- Framed: 140.5 x 167.5 x 6 cm (55 5/16 x 65 15/16 x 2 3/8 in.); Unframed: 122 x 148.5 cm (48 1/16 x 58 7/16 in.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- European Painting and Sculpture
- Credit line
- Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
- Accession no.
- 1930.22
More by Alessandro Magnasco in museum collections
Open-access museum record · AT-00009301
Powered by Art Trackers