Details

Object type

painting

Title

Interior of St. Bavo's, Haarlem with a Catholic Baptism

Artist/Maker

Pieter Jansz Saenredam artist

Culture/School

Dutch

Place Associated

Haarlem, St Baud Church (place depicted)

Date

1633

Materials

oil on panel

Dimensions

framed: 575 x 480 x 53 mm;unframed: 393 mm x 336 mm

Description

Painting entitled 'Interior of the church of St Bavo, Haarlem', by Pieter Saenredam, 1633. This was perhaps painted for a Roman Catholic patron, as it shows a priest dressed in white awaiting a woman carrying a child to be baptized. The view shows the north aisle of the great medieval Church, which became Protestant in 1578 during the Reformation, when the interior was cleared of Catholic features to give a plain appearance. Church interiors were a favourite subject for artists and patrons in the seventeenth century Netherlands. Some are shown with Catholic furnishings, but Saenredam, a Protestant, was famed for his paintings of pale, sparse views with highly accurate perspective.

Credit Line/Donor

Bequeathed by William Euing, 1874

ID Number

383

Location

Kelvingrove Dutch Art Gallery