127.6 x 116.9 cm (50 1/4 x 46 in.)
Oil on canvas

Inscriptions: Lower right: E De Witte / A 1677

Classification: Paintings
Type, sub-type: Architectural

Object is currently out on loan

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.

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

M. Theresa B. Hopkins Fund, 1949
Accession number: 49.7

Provenance/Ownership History: Please note: The history of ownership is not definitive or comprehensive, as it is under constant review and revision by MFA curators and researchers.

August 8-9, 1804, anonymous sale, Philippe van der Schley, Amsterdam, lot 223 [see note 1]. Before 1948, possibly in a Boston 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] According to Ilse Manke, "Emanuel de Witte, 1617-1692" (Amsterdam, 1963), p. 98, cat. no. 87. [2] According to notes in the curatorial file, Alfred Lowe (senior restorer at the MFA between 1930 and 1955) recalled that before it was acquired, the picture had been relined at the MFA, probably by him, and that Rosenthal had not owned it at that time.

This object is included in the following Selected Tour(s):

• All European Paintings
• Northern European Paintings