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Located in Rembrandt’s neighborhood, the Oude Kerk was the major reformed Protestant church in Amsterdam and a favorite subject of De Witte. After moving from Delft in the 1650s, he painted the building’s interior over thirty times.
Here, afternoon sunlight enters from the left, creating patterns of light and shade on the pillars and floor. De Witte emphasized the church’s centrality to the community: worshippers listen to a sermon, dogs roam, and an old man near a column at left puts money in a collection basket. The family group in the foreground may be a portrait, perhaps reflecting their role in commissioning the painting.
Interior of the Oude Kerk, Amsterdam
Emanuel de Witte (Dutch, about 1617–1691 or 1692)
about 1660-65
Medium/Technique
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
65.4 x 73 cm (25 3/4 x 28 3/4 in.)
Framed: 90.8 x 98.7 x 9.5 cm (35 3/4 x 38 7/8 x 3 3/4 in.)
Framed: 90.8 x 98.7 x 9.5 cm (35 3/4 x 38 7/8 x 3 3/4 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo, in support of the Center for Netherlandish Art
Accession Number2021.721
OUT ON LOAN
On display at Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, TX, November 10, 2024 – February 9, 2025
On display at Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, TX, November 10, 2024 – February 9, 2025
CollectionsEurope
ClassificationsPaintings
Located in Rembrandt’s neighborhood, the Oude Kerk was the major reformed Protestant church in Amsterdam and a favorite subject of De Witte. After moving from Delft in the 1650s, he painted the building’s interior over thirty times.
Here, afternoon sunlight enters from the left, creating patterns of light and shade on the pillars and floor. De Witte emphasized the church’s centrality to the community: worshippers listen to a sermon, dogs roam, and an old man near a column at left puts money in a collection basket. The family group in the foreground may be a portrait, perhaps reflecting their role in commissioning the painting.
ProvenancePossibly John Constable (b. 1776 – d. 1837), London; May 15-16, 1838, posthumous Constable sale, Foster and Sons, London, lot 7, sold to Farrer for 27 gns. [see note 1]. 1848, purchased by Francis Gibson (b. 1803 – d. 1859), Saffron Walden, Essex [see note 2]; to his son-in-law, Lewis Fry (b. 1832 – d. 1921), Bristol; to his son, Lewis George Fry (b. 1860); to his son, Dr. Lewis S. Fry, Delafords, Epping, Essex; by descent to his children; April 11, 1975, Children of Lewis S. Fry sale, Christie's, London, lot 34. April 19, 1985, anonymous ("property of a family trust") sale, Christie's, London, lot 90. 1985, Jaime Ortiz-Patiño, Coral Gables, FL [see note 3]; January 30, 1998, Ortiz-Patiño sale, Sotheby's, New York, lot 68, sold to Noortman Master Paintings [see note 4]; 1998, sold by Noortman to Eijk and Rose-Marie van Otterloo, Marblehead, MA; 2021, gift of Eijk and Rose-Marie van Otterloo to the MFA. (Accession Date: December 15, 2021)
NOTES:
[1] As “Interior of a Cathedral, with Numerous Figures—a chef d’oeuvre.” According to Arts Council of Great Britain, Dutch Paintings of the 17th Century (London, 1945), cat. no. 40, this was “stated to have belonged to the painter John Constable.” Buyer information according to handwritten annotations in the catalogue. Farrer may refer to the London-based dealer Henry Farrer (b. 1798 - d. 1866).
[2] According to the Arts Council of Great Britain, Exhibition of Dutch Paintings of the 17th Century (London, 1945), cat. no. 40.
[3] According to Ben Broos, Great Dutch Paintings from America (The Hague, 1990), cat. no. 71.
[4] According to Frederick Duparc, Golden: Dutch and Flemish Masterworks from the Collection of Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo (New Haven, 2011), cat. no. 66.
NOTES:
[1] As “Interior of a Cathedral, with Numerous Figures—a chef d’oeuvre.” According to Arts Council of Great Britain, Dutch Paintings of the 17th Century (London, 1945), cat. no. 40, this was “stated to have belonged to the painter John Constable.” Buyer information according to handwritten annotations in the catalogue. Farrer may refer to the London-based dealer Henry Farrer (b. 1798 - d. 1866).
[2] According to the Arts Council of Great Britain, Exhibition of Dutch Paintings of the 17th Century (London, 1945), cat. no. 40.
[3] According to Ben Broos, Great Dutch Paintings from America (The Hague, 1990), cat. no. 71.
[4] According to Frederick Duparc, Golden: Dutch and Flemish Masterworks from the Collection of Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo (New Haven, 2011), cat. no. 66.