| Jerusalem |
| The Ades Synagogue |
| Conservation of the Murals, 2015 |
| Orderer | the Heritage Division in the Prime Minister's Office, the Jerusalem Municipality |
| Implemented by: |
Jacques Neguer - Conservation Guidance
Arch. Ram Shoeff
Vladimir Bitman
Alexei Ronkin
Olga Finkelshtein
Shuli Levinboim
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The murals in the Ades Synagogue are a unique and extraordinary example of a monumental work of art that combines Jewish tradition with the beginnings of Modern Zionism in Israel. Thanks to the uniqueness of the synagogue and the artistic value of its decorations it is included in the Heritage Program’s list of sites slated for conservation. The conservation measures for the building’s roof and its rehabilitation were implemented with funds provided by the Milestones Program of the Heritage Division in the Prime Minister's Office and by the Jerusalem Municipality. The conservation of the original murals was done by a team of conservators from the Israel Antiquities Authority Conservation Administration, headed by Jacques Negeur.
The Ades Synagogue of Jerusalem’s Aleppo community was constructed in 1901 in the Nachalot quarter of the city thanks to a contribution by the Ades family of Aleppo. Two dates denoted inside the synagogue are connected to the beginning of the building: 1901 on the entrance to the structure and 1905 which appears in the dedicatory inscription honoring the Ades family. It is possible that the interval between the dates indicates the difference between the year when they commenced construction of the building and the year the synagogue was consecrated. The Holy Ark stands out along the inner eastern wall of the building. The members of the community commissioned the magnificent ark from Damascus, and brought it to Jerusalem in pieces. The Holy Ark is made of walnut wood and is inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Geometric, intertwined and arabesque elements combine to form its decorations. This masterpiece is typical of Damascene art. Along with the Holy Ark a chest was brought to the synagogue which was also made of wood and decorated. In renovations conducted in the synagogue in the mid-twentieth century the wooden chest was replaced by a modern bema. Prior to the synagogue’s centennial celebration a new wooden bema was installed there that was prepared by the artist Yigal Tam, reflecting the spirit of the decorations on the Holy Ark. The walls of the synagogue were decorated with murals by the artist Ya‘aqov Stark.
Stark immigrated to Israel from Galicia in 1905. In 1906 he began studying at Bezalel and was one of the first students at the institution. Three years later he joined the faculty. Among other things Stark specialized in calligraphy and graphic arts.
The circumstances surrounding the selection of Ya‘aqov Stark to decorate the walls of the synagogue are not known. While working in the synagogue Stark resided on Shilo Street nearby, at the house of the Tam family. In 1912 he finished his monumental work, which included all of the walls of the synagogue. Apart from the decorations on the tops of the northern, eastern and southern walls that were known prior to the conservation work, the conservation measures revealed decorations also painted by Stark between and underneath the windows, as well as murals on the western wall. The decoration includes the symbols of the tribes, biblical verses, floral decorations etc. The date when Stark completed the work, “the Month of Cheshvan, in the Year 5673” is written on the eastern wall between the decorations.
Ya'aqov Stark did not live very long; he passed away in the autumn of 1915, leaving behind a wife and a small daughter. With his artistic creations Stark laid the cornerstones of modern Hebrew decoration, based on a repertoire of Jewish-Zionist forms, as manifested in his monumental work in the Ades synagogue.
The building was damaged in the battles in 1948 during the War of Independence. A shell that exploded near the southeast corner of the synagogue caused cracks in the walls, which was also evident in the murals. Over the years, the decorations were covered with layers of paint and dirt. Electrical work and the replacement of cabinets in the synagogue in 2000 revealed a section of a mural near the entrance to the synagogue, beneath the women's gallery. This discovery led to the realization that there were probably more of Stark’s paintings on the walls of the synagogue, which had been lost over the years following the various repair work done in the building. In 2006 it was decided to treat the synagogue’s murals, 94 years after they were painted. An art restoration professional from France commissioned to carry out the work affixed canvas to the walls with industrial glue and nails and copied Stark’s paintings on it. This intervention, which damaged the original murals, was only halted after the court issued a stop-work injunction.
At first the conservation measures included removing the cloth that had been glued to the southern and eastern walls. The condition of the original wall paintings underneath it was unknown, and it was feared that they were severely damaged.Fortunately, despite the damage, the paintings were sufficiently well-preserved that they could be satisfactorily restored. We conducted a number of experiments in order to test what was the most effective treatment for restoring the paintings. In the next step we applied gauze compresses to the murals in order to absorb the chemical materials that had penetrated into the layers of paint, without damaging the original colors that were apparently composed of egg tempura or bone-meal glue. The following step included repairing the damage to the plaster and paint and touching up the mural. On the northern wall, which had blackened with age, were repairs to the paint that had been carried out previously and these were treated at the same time.
In order to reveal as much as possible of Stark’s monumental work, we began by gently peeling away the layers of modern paint that covered the wall between and below the windows. The work was slow and painstaking because the original mural was covered with three coats of paint, some of them thick oil paint that was especially difficult to remove. It was thanks to this determined measure that we discovered Stark’s original decoration between the synagogue’s windows.
While attempting to follow the original decoration below the windows we discovered that when the heating system was installed in the building parts of the walls had been peeled away and no traces were left of the mural. By analyzing the various existing patterns on the walls of the building we could estimate the original colors of the missing murals and deduce their decorative pattern. The conservation measures on the walls that sustained damage in the War of Independence included filling missing sections created as a result of the explosion and completing the mural. As the conservation work progressed remains of a decoration were also discovered on the western wall of the women’s gallery, but it was difficult to reconstruct the painting in detail. A detailed stylistic comparison between the exposed mural remains and Stark’s other graphic works has allowed us to give a renewed interpretation to the decorations in the women’s gallery.
In addition to conserving the murals, the roof of the building was also treated. Some of the roof tiles sustained damage over the years and rainwater seeped into the building. These leaks damaged the roof’s wooden construction, ceiling and some of the murals. The treatment of the roof included building a new wooden construction. The original construction was not removed from the building; instead it was left in situ beneath the new one. The original wooden ceiling was attached to the new construction and the damaged roof tiles were replaced.
On April 19, 2015 the synagogue was consecrated anew. After two years of conservation work in the building the monumental interior decoration that Stark painted on the inside walls is once again on display. The original appearance of the synagogue was almost fully restored, but in order to complete the work intervention is necessary in the facades, the building’s infrastructures, the building’s elements (windows, doors, etc) and lighting. We hope that the resources will be found in order to complete the rehabilitation and conservation work of the Ades Synagogue.
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May 2015
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Architectural documentation: Arch. Ram Shoeff, Arch. Yehonatan Tzahor, Rachel Singer
Historical documentation: Dr. Nirit Shalev-Khalifa, Edna Assis – Yad Ben Zvi
Implementation: Vladimir Bitman, Alexei Ronkin, Olga Finkelstein, Shuli Levenboym
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August 2015
To view the figures, click on the figure caption
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