Interior of the Nieuwe Kerk, Amsterdam

Emanuel de Witte (Dutch, about 1617–1691 or 1692)

1677

Medium/TechniqueOil on canvas

Dimensions127.6 x 116.9 cm (50 1/4 x 46 in.)

Credit LineM. Theresa B. Hopkins Fund

Accession number49.7

On View

Not on view

ClassificationsPaintings

Collections

Europe

Description

De Witte was one of several Dutch artists who developed a new style of architectural painting characterized by strong contrasts of light and dark, a vivid portrayal of human activity within churches, and the occasional alteration of architectural features to suit the composition. While the interior of the Nieuwe Kerk is faithfully represented here, the dog in the foreground, the mother feeding her baby in the left distance, and the gravedigger were no doubt added by the artist and may refer to the transitory nature of life.

InscriptionsLower right: E De Witte / A 1677

ProvenanceAugust 8-9, 1804, anonymous sale, Philippe van der Schley, Amsterdam, lot 223 [see note 1]. Between about 1930 and 1938, probably in a Boston-area collection [see note 2]. By 1948, Rosenthal Brothers, Boston; 1949, sold by Rosenthal Brothers to the MFA for $500. (Accession Date: January 13, 1949)

NOTES:
[1] This identification was made by Ilse Manke, "Emanuel de Witte, 1617-1692" (Amsterdam, 1963), p. 98, cat. no. 87. [2] According to notes in the curatorial file from paintings curator W. G. Constable, who began working at the MFA in 1938, Alfred Lowe (senior restorer at the MFA between 1930 and 1955) recalled that the picture had been relined at the MFA, probably by him, and that Rosenthal had not owned it at that time.