The Entrance Hall of the Regensburg Synagogue

Art Historical Context

Albrecht Altdorfer’s 1519 etching, *The Entrance Hall of the Regensburg Synagogue*, offers a rare glimpse into a sixteenth-century Jewish architectural space. Created just as the Regensburg synagogue was being dismantled, the small print records the vaulted entrance hall with careful attention to its stone arches, columns, and the figures moving through the space. As an etching, the work demonstrates the medium’s ability to capture fine architectural detail and subtle tonal contrasts on a modest sheet measuring roughly six by four inches. Altdorfer, active in the Danube region, was among the first artists to explore landscape and architecture as independent subjects in print. Here he balances precise observation of the synagogue’s Gothic features with a lively sense of human presence, inviting viewers to imagine daily life within the building. Today the print stands as both an artistic achievement and a valuable historical document preserved in the Metropolitan Museum’s collection of drawings and prints.

About the Artist

Albrecht Altdorfer · 1475–1538

Albrecht Altdorfer (c. 1480–1538) was a German painter, printmaker, and draftsman who stands as one of the founders of landscape painting as an independent genre. Born in Regensburg or nearby Altdorf, he learned art from his father Ulrich, a painter and miniaturist. Altdorfer spent most of his life in Regensburg, becoming a citizen in 1505 and later serving as the city's official architect and a m...