Interior of the Oude Kerk, Delft

1650 · Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

interior

This view was recorded from the southern aisle of the Oude Kerk, looking to the northeast. The space covered by wood vaulting is the Mariakoor (Mary's Choir). The luminous area in the left background, beyond the chandelier, is the Joriskapel (St George's Chapel), where several years later the tomb of Admiral Maerten Tromp was installed against the bare white wall.

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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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