The Nieuwe Kerk in Delft with the Tomb of William the Silent

1651 · Museum Briner und Kern, Winterthur

interior

It is interesting to compare this painting with Houckgeest's painting of the same view in the Mauritshuis, The Hague. The man and boy on the left and a couple and child in front of the tomb were adopted from Houckgeest but are now less distant and isolated. The figures in the centre have become a second family with a young servant and greyhounds, one of them catching the other dog's attention and a brilliant fall of light.

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The Nieuwe Kerk in Delft with the Tomb of William the Silent

About the Artist

Emanuel de Witte

1617 – 1692

Dutch painter, active in his native Alkmaar, then in Rotterdam (by 1639), Delft (by 1641), and Amsterdam (by 1652). His range was wide, including history paintings, genre scenes (notably of markets) and portraits, but after he settled in Amsterdam he concentrated on architectural paintings (primarily church interiors, both real and imaginary ). His paintings are very different in spirit from the sober views of most Dutch architectural specialists, making powerful use of the dramatic play of light and shadow in the lofty interiors. His life was unhappy (he was constantly in debt) and when his body was found in an Amsterdam canal it was suspected that he had committed suicide.

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