The new synagogue in Ostrów Wielkopolski was built between 1857 and 1860. It was located on the northern edge of the former Jewish quarter. Its current appearance is the result of a reconstruction commissioned by the Jewish Community Council in 1903. The building is considered the only surviving example of a metropolitan-style synagogue in Poland. Its Oriental design is inspired by the popular Moorish architecture of the 19th century (E. Bergman, Nurt mauretański w architekturze synagog Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej w XIX i na początku XX wieku, Warsaw 2004, pp. 182–185). Extensive renovations were carried out on the synagogue between 2009 and 2011, and the synagogue was ceremoniously reopened for cultural purposes as the "Forum Synagoga" in October 2011 (https://umostrow.pl/synagoga-z-1857-1860-ul-raszkowska-21.html, accessed on 25 February 2021).
The drawing depicting the synagogue in Ostrów Wielkopolski has the shape of a lying rectangle. In the foreground, there is a fragment of an intersection and a diagonally running alley. On the right side, there are low, single-story houses with gable roofs. From behind them emerges the synagogue's distinctive massive structure, visible from the northwest side. The two corner towers of the building are crowned with tall, bulbous domes topped with pinnacles – vertical decorative elements. The drawing is marked in the lower left corner: "Ostrów Wlkp. 1948/ b. Synagoga/ JSkoracki”.
Józef Skoracki was an artist and photographer from Leszno. From 1937 to 1939, he attended the State Institute of Fine Arts in Poznań. From 1946 to 1951, he studied at the State Higher School of Fine Arts in Poznań. He worked in applied graphics, photography, drawing, and painting. He created illustrations for over 2,000 books and albums, and designed bookplates . He painted in watercolor and tempera, and also created woodcuts and linocuts. His works can be found in many museums and private collections (Z. Gryczka, Skoracki Józef [in:] Słownik Biograficzny Leszna, vol. II, Leszno 2011, pp. 231–233).
The drawing was donated to the District Museum in Leszno in 2005 by the artist's widow, Janina Skoracka. The artwork came from the artist's collection.
Dariusz Czwojdrak
