[Scene in the Antwerp Synagoge].

Aquarelle, 30 x 40 cm, vellum paper, signed and dated at lower right corner (foxing throughout, some white spots).

Under passe-partout, under wooden frame.

A historical scene set in a church interior with a large crowd gathering around a man who is lecturing. The scene most probably depicts a Rabi (or a Calvinist preacher) teaching in Antwerp cathedral. The composition is possibly related to the "Re-institution of the Catholic cult in Antwerp", painted by Leys the same year which is set in an almost identical historical interior (including the young boy leaning on the baptismal font). The latter painting is now part of the collection of the Royal Museum of Fine Art of Belgium, inv. 592. The drawing is a reflection of Leys at the height of his career as one of the leading historicising painters.