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Interior of the Church of St Bavo in Haarlem by Pieter Jansz Saenredam

Pieter Jansz Saenredam · 1636-01-01

Saenredam spent his career painting whitewashed Dutch churches, real buildings he documented with architectural precision. Interior of St Bavo's Church in Haarlem, 1636, in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam.

Look at the woman with her basket by the entrance, and the man in a red coat nearby. These are the kind of everyday figures Saenredam placed in his churches, not saints, not angels, just people. Then follow the tiled floor to the gilded organ at the far end. On its panel, Christ appears, the only religious image in the room.

After the Reformation, Dutch Protestant churches removed Catholic imagery. Saenredam made these bare white interiors his subject for decades, using precise perspective to create what are essentially architectural portraits.

Most Golden Age painting is loud. This one is quiet on purpose.

Details

This painter chose bare walls and a woman with her basket.
This painter chose bare walls and a woman with her basket.
The gilded organ pulls the eye through the nave.
The gilded organ pulls the eye through the nave.
Its sheer scale and texture emphasize the monumental architecture and create a sense of depth.
Its sheer scale and texture emphasize the monumental architecture and create a sense of depth.
Transcript

Most Dutch painters filled their churches with gold and saints. This painter chose bare walls and a woman with her basket. Nearby, a man in a red coat stands waiting. The gilded organ pulls the eye through the nave. The only religious image: Christ, on the organ panel.