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DEACESSIONED October 24, 2024
Interior of the Nieuwe Kerk, Amsterdam
Emanuel de Witte (Dutch, about 1617–1691 or 1692)
1677
Medium/Technique
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
127.6 x 116.9 cm (50 1/4 x 46 in.)
Credit Line
M. Theresa B. Hopkins Fund
Accession Number49.7
CollectionsEurope
ClassificationsPaintings
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.
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.