Last week we started our lecture with a clarification of the term repoussoir using as an example a landscape by Jacob Isaakszoonvan Ruisdael, then went on to conclude our theme of genre art with the many works by Jan Steen, and then started with some beautiful riverscapes by Salomon van Ruysdael.So this week we are continuing with the Dutch Golden Age seascape paintings and will conclude the theme of landscape and seascape with “urbanscapes”, i.e. paintings of cities, towns and buildings found there.

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After the Second World War the U.S. Army sent a large number of artworks to the Netherlands, which they had retrieved in Germany. They returned the works stating that they should be returned to their original owners. A limited number of works was actually returned to the owners. The remaining works were held in a separate state collection known as Nederlands Kunstbezit (Dutch Art Collection). Works from this collection are the basis of a 2017 exhibition “Looted Art” in Deventer, The Netherlands. The provenance of some works in the exhibit is as of today unknown.The cold attitude of the Dutch State towards those who came to claim their property after the war is one of the focal points. Famous examples are those of the art dealer Goudstikker and the collector Gutmann, whose heirs were finally vindicated after more than sixty years.A typical Dutch church with prominent spire is seen in the background. In the fore ground travellers are being ferried across the river. Notice the beautiful reflections in the water that Ruysdael has captured.

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This scene is very similar to other river landscape paintings Ruisdael made in this period and these often served as inspiration for later painters of landscape. It is an oil on canvas painting by the Dutch landscape painter Salomon van Ruysdael. It is an example of Dutch Golden Age of Painting.Arthur K. Wheelock Jr., curator of Dutch and Flemish paintings at the National Gallery, was ecstatic about the purchase in 2007.“It is a fabulous work, possibly the best painting he ever painted and my ideal of a work by this artist,” Mr. Wheelock said. “There is this wonderful sense of light and a breeze passing through trees. It just holds together in a beautiful, harmonious way.” Alois Miedl was a 73 year old German banker who had lived in the Netherlands since 1930 who wanted to take over Goudstikker’s business for himself and earn a fortune by selling items from the collection to Göring and other high ranking Nazis. To Göring, Miedl was no more than a convenient middle agent. Göring picked up the gallery’s inventory for a fraction of what it was worth and Miedl took over the real estate and company’s gallery for a song.

Jacques Goudstikker was a Jewish art dealer whose works were seized and taken to Germany after his death as part of war booty. The painting was restituted to the Netherlands after the war (RCE Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands ). It was lent by the RCE to various museums on long-term loans before being given to the Rijksmuseum in 1960, where it had featured in its Gallery of Honor for years. In 2006 it was restituted finally to the Goudstikker heirs and since 2007 it is part of the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

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Jacques Goudstikker delighted in organizing national as well as international art fairs, festivals, and exhibitions, some of which had enduring significance for the history of art and a profound influence on collecting patterns. He was responsible for what was, at the time, the largest exhibition of Peter Paul Rubens’s art in the Netherlands, and the only show ever of the landscapes of Salomon van Ruysdael, among others.This landscape painting shows in the foreground a horse-drawn carriage followed by a red coated rider on a white horse and a boy walking on a dirt road. In the distance is a town and church and the sea. To the left on top of a slight rise are a group looking in the direction of the sea.

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Salomon van Ruysdael would spend his entire artistic career in Haarlem, the site of many early innovations in the development of Dutch naturalistic landscape painting.He was one of the principal exponents of Dutch tonal landscape painting. Not until the 1640s did the monochromatic color scheme characteristic of this phase give way to a more colorful and compositionally classical period, from which date Ruysdael's best works. Settling on river scenery as his primary subject, Salomon varied his compositions with great skill, focusing on the effects of light and atmosphere which change and qualify the natural components of his paintings: land, water, and foliage, all placed beneath a cloud-filled sky. Salomon van Ruysdael, a Mennonite, died in 1670 and was buried in Saint Bavo's Church in his adopted Haarlem. Salomon was the uncle of the more famous Jacob van Ruisdael and the father of Jacob Salomonsz. van Ruysdael, who was also a landscape artist.

The view of Nijmegen shows the River Waal and Valkhof Castle built for Holy Roman Emperor Frederick. Nijmegen is one of the oldest cities in the Netherlands, going back to Batavia under Roman rule. Other painters used the same scene, the castle was demolished in 1799. Salomon van Ruysdael painted two different types of clouds, white and dark grey, that add drama to the scene and pleasing composition.Incidentally the Waal river is the main outflow of the Rhine River to the sea, but in the Netherlands it is called the Waal.

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The Valkhof at Nijmegen by Aelbert Cuyp, likely painted between 1652 and 1654. It is now in the Indianapolis Museum of Art.The Valkhof at Nijmegen typifies the Dutch landscape. A small boat filled with fisherman wait to capture lobsters. Two fat cows sit at the bank of the river, with their herder and two guests. The herder's red jacket is the focal point, drawing the eye in and breaking up the muted tones of the rest of the painting. Across the river, the looming Medieval architecture is bathed in a warm golden light from the seemingly setting sun. Boats float peacefully down the water banks, not disturbing the water. A windmill pokes up from the cliff face. Small, chunky clouds hover peacefully over the bay. Overall, the feelings of peace and tranquility run through the painting, with the stillness of the cattle, people, and water, all reflecting the peaceful nature of the painting.Nigmegen was popular with artists because of the city's Medieval history, with the Valkhof having strong patriotic ties. It was the stronghold of Gaius Julius Civiis, an ancient hero who led the Batavians to revolt against the Romans during the 1st-century. During this time, it also paralleled the Dutch's rebellion against Spain and the Hapsburg Empire. This castle was built for the Emperor Frederich overlooking the Waal River; it was taken down in 1799. The scene is based on sketches that Cuyp took during this travels to Nijmegen in 1652, however, Cuyptransformed the landscape by using a warm glow, calling to mind Italian landscapes. He adopted this style, and it became his signature on his paintings. Later on, Cuyp's work has a profound impact on 19th-century landscape painters, including J.M.W. Turner. Because of the way that Cuyp painted his subjects bathed in light, it is hypothesized that he worked in Utrecht, which took many of its artistic cues from Baroque Italy.

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Jacob Isaackszoon van Ruisdael. 1629 –1682 was a Dutch painter, draughtsman, and etcher. He is generally considered the pre-eminent landscape painter of the Dutch Golden Age, a period of great wealth and cultural achievement when Dutch painting became highly popular. In his late work, conducted when he lived and worked in Amsterdam, he added city panoramas and seascapes to his regular repertoire. In these, the sky often took up two thirds of the canvas.

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Actually a “riverscape” , on the left mostly shade, but some white sheep stand out. The right side on the other bank is in the sun. Houses can be seen on both sides of the river. The sky is a mixture with patches of blue but ominous black clouds predominate.

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Nineteenth-century connoisseurs considered Rembrandt’s painting of The Mill to be one of the master’s greatest creations. They celebrated the dramatic silhouette of the post-mill against a dark, stormy sky, unaware that the romantic aura and rich golden tone of the scene were caused by darkened and discolored varnish. They attributed the heavy atmosphere to Rembrandt’s frame of mind in the period of the mid-1650s, when he encountered severe financial difficulties. The restoration of the painting in 1977–1979 removed the old varnish, thereby changing the painting’s symbolic character. Under the blue and steel-gray sky, the bright sails on the vanes draw the viewer’s eyes to the mill, which is perched on a bulwark to take advantage of the additional height. Although it is possible that Rembrandt based this scene on his father’s mill on the ramparts of Leiden, he imaginatively conceived the scene to symbolically portray the mill as a guardian, protecting the land and its people.Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, but sometimes it can have Freudian meaning. Similarly a mill can just be a pretty quaint part of the landscape or it can symbolize Dutch proud love of their native land that they have reclaimed from the sea by windmill-powered pumps.Beside a broad moat, high above the circular scarp of a ruined bastion, stands a windmill. In the foreground is a landing-post. A woman with a child goes down to the water. In the center foreground a woman at the water's edge is washing linen. From the right approaches a ferryboat with the mast down, rowed by a man. The last rays of the sun illumine vanes of the mill in their radiant glow.

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The Windmill at Wijk bij Duurstede Jacob Isaaksz. van Ruisdael 1628-82 oil on canvas 1668-70 Rijksmueum, Amsterdam

When one thinks of the Netherlands one automatically thinks of windmills, at least in landscape views. They preceded electric power and were used for grinding grain and were essential for pumping water into the numerous canals thereby reclaiming the land. Thus they had symbolic patriotic significance. Of course I had to include this painting with the outstanding depiction not only of a windmill that dominates this scene, but also shows van Ruisdael’s skill in painting cloud formation. The threatening dark clouds in black are broken with a few patches of white clouds and even a little blue sky.On the left is a small sailing boat on the river. Just left of the mill is the tower of St. Johns church while just to the right are the towers of Duurstede castle, a medieval ruin that still stands. Several women are walking along the shore.Wijk bij Duurstede is located a few kilometers from Utrecht.

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Sun-streaked clouds scudding across the sky dominate this placid landscape, a classic example of the luminous style that made Cuypa beloved artist among eighteenth- and nineteenth-century collectors. Based on studies made in nature, the painting is nonetheless a studio confection. Resting livestock quietly chewing their cud and agrarian laborers along the river’s edge appear as timeless parts of the landscape in a reassuring vision for the landowning collectors able to display such a monumental scene.A very similar painting by Cuyp “River Landscape with cows” 1645/50 is part of the National Gallery of Art Washington DC collection of Dutch Paintings of the Seventeenth Century.

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Jan Porcellis was born in Ghent but his parents fled north in 1584 to escape the Spanish invasion. He lived variously in Antwerp, Rotterdam, Haarlem and Amsterdam. He painted and drew marine and beach views exclusively. His emphasis was less on ships than on the atmosphere on the water. He was one of the most innovative artists of his time. Seascape with a Rainbow c, 1631 Shows a cloudy sky and choppy sea. In the center foreground a fishing boat and closer to the horizon we see several sailboats. The spray from the water and the angle of the sailboats show a stiff wind is blowing. The rainbow indicates that it has just rained. Rainbows are not commonly seen in Dutch landscapes or marines. Porcellis used only yellow, blue and purple for the rainbow. The rainbow emphasizes the fishing boat in the foreground. A large part of the water is in the shadow, but just in front of the boat the sunlight sweeps over a strip of water with white choppy waves. High in the sky is a flock of birds.

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Jan Porcellis was one of the most celebrated marine painters in the seventeenth century. In 1622 he came to Haarlem, where he had previously been apprenticed to the marine painter Hendrik Vroom. Vroom was known for his impressive, colorful scenes full of anecdotal details. Porcellis, by contrast, introduced context: he showed ships in convincing perspective in relation to one another and blended his colors to produce a persuasive spatial effect. He conveyed the forces of nature in subtle shades of brown and grey, from silvery white to ominous dark. Shipwrecks, like this especially fine one – bleak and violent in sea and sky – gave his audience shivers, and plenty to think about: fortunes were made in ships like these, but some went on the rocks, helpless.The painting was purchased for € 800,000 in 2017 was from the Stern Gallery in Düsseldorf and had been a forced sale to secure a visa for Stern’s mother, it was in the possession of AuktionshausMetz in Heidelberg.

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A rare early marine painting by Salomon’s nephew Jacob van Ruisdael, showing three sailing ships in rough seas with a glimpse of sunshine through the clouds. Also notice the rainbow off on the right side, not commonly depicted in Dutch land/seascapesJacob Isaackszoon van Ruisdael. 1629 –1682 was a Dutch painter, draughtsman, and etcher. He is generally considered the pre-eminent landscape painter of the Dutch Golden Age, a period of great wealth and cultural achievement when Dutch painting became highly popular. In his late work, conducted when he lived and worked in Amsterdam, he added city panoramas and seascapes to his regular repertoire. In these, the sky often took up two thirds of the canvas.

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The naval Battle of Gibraltar took place in 1607, during the Eighty Years’ War when a Dutch fleet surprised and engaged a Spanish fleet anchored at the Bay of Gibraltar. During 4 hours of action, most of the Spanish ships were destroyed. It was one of the most celebrated Dutch naval victories in their war of independence.Cornelius van Wieringen 1576-1635 became a member of the guild of St. Luke in Haarlem, who specialized in paintings depicting ships and sea battles. He received orders from the municipal councils of Haarlem and Amsterdam.This vivid painting from the artist’s imagination was executed ~ 14 years after the event. The Dutch ship whose prow extends over the larger Spanish galleon has sent its sailors to board and set fire to the galleon which is ablaze, possibly causing the powder room to explode. Van Wieringen imagines the explosion causing sailors and parts of the galleon to be floating in the sky almost defying gravity. The Dutch commander, Jacob van Heemskerk, sailed his fleet of 26 warships into the Bay of Gibraltar, where a Spanish fleet was anchored. The Spanish admiral, Don Juan Alvarez de Avila, had a force of 21 ships, which included 10 large galleons, and outgunned the Dutch.In the first approach, Van Heemskerk—in his flagship, Aeolus—targeted his opposite number’s flagship, San Augustin. As the ships engaged, a cannonball severed Van Heemskerk’s leg and he was mortally wounded. The captain of the Aeolus, Verhoef, took command of the fleet, but did not reveal the death of its admiral, and in the next broadside, the Spanish admiral was killed.The smaller Dutch vessels lethally harried the larger Spanish ships, with 2 attacking each galleon. One of the Spanish galleons exploded when its magazine was ignited, and the flames spread to other ships, leaving the Spanish fleet in total disarray. With all other ships sunk or burned, the devastated San Augustin managed to raise the white flag, but the Dutch did not accept the surrender. Instead, they rowed among the ruined Spanish fleet, shooting and stabbing survivors as they floated in the water.Losses: Spanish, entire fleet 21 ships & 2,000–4,000 men; Dutch, no ships & 100

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men.

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The First Anglo-Dutch War 1652–1654 was a conflict fought entirely at seabetween the navies of the Commonwealth of England (Cromwell) and the United Provinces of the Netherlands. It was largely caused by disputes over trade. The war began with English attacks on Dutch merchant shipping, but expanded to vast fleet actions. Although the English Navy won most of these battles, they only controlled the seas around England. In the Scheveningen naval battle off the Dutch coast , near The Hague, Martin Tromp was ordered to sea to try to break the English blockade. Tromp was killed early in the action and the Dutch lost eleven vessels. The English fleet was also badly damaged and with many wounded in urgent need of treatment, returned to port to refit and were unable to maintain the blockade. After this tactical English victory, the Dutch used smaller warships and privateers to capture numerous English merchant ships so, by November 1653 Cromwell was willing to make peace.

In this battle scene it is difficult to identify Dutch ships flying red, white and blue striped flag from British navy ships flying the Blue Ensign &/or the Cross of St. George. In the middle the Brederode, the Dutch flagship of Maarten Tromp is in combat with the English flagship Resolution under the command of admiral Monk. The Brederode has lost the top of one of its masts. In foreground 2 ships are sinking and the sailors have taken to lifeboats.Jan Abrahamsz Beerstraaten 1622 -1666 was a Dutch painter of marine art and landscapes, particularly of events of the First Anglo-Dutch War and Dutch-Swedish War.

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Willem van de Velde the Elder was born in Leiden in 1611, the son of the master of a transport vessel. As a boy, Willem may have accompanied his father on sea expeditions, which likely influenced his career as a marine artist. Van de Velde had three children: a daughter and two sons who would become painters, Willem van de Velde the Younger (Dutch, 1633 - 1707) and Adriaen van de Velde (Dutch, 1636 - 1672).Van de Velde’s earliest drawings from the 1630s and 1640s depict individual ships and the Dutch fleet at rest. For most of his career, however, he portrayed contemporary naval battles, usually made under the employ of the Dutch admiralty. He frequently traveled with the Dutch navy to witness events firsthand, making drawings as points of reference that he would develop into meticulously detailed pen paintings, or penschilderijen, back in the studio. Although in the latter years of his life he also worked in oils, he predominantly kept to this specialized art form.During the First Anglo-Dutch War of 1652–1654, Van de Velde sailed in the company of Admiral Marten Tromp, making a number of drawings of both the Dutch and the English fleets, most notably at the Battle of Scheveningen.In 1672, Van de Velde left Amsterdam for England, joining his son Willem the Younger, who had arrived several weeks earlier. The exact reasons for his departure remain uncertain, though the threat of the French invasion and the prospect of greater professional opportunities in England, encouraged their move.

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Fishing Boats in a Calm 1660-65 exudes a feeling of peace and serenity. Van de Velde had an ability for harmonious compositions in which form and color are completely balanced.In nearly windless weather, a fishing boat, probably a flat-bottomed kaag (a type of cargo vessel) lies at low tide on a sandbar. One anchor lies in the left foreground the other dangles from the railing. The boat seems to be stranded, but presumably the captain has let it run aground on purpose which was customary with flat bottomed boats. The white banner with the cross of St. George at the top of the mast identifies this as an English boat. In the right foreground, the white wings of three sea gulls stand out against the dark rippling water. To the right , behind the boat , two figures by a fire busy themselves with a large cooking pot, from which rise clouds of smoke. Further to the right stands a third figure next to a tent. On the other side of the boat, a row boat with two men moors at the sandbar. At 6 the far left some sailboats float and a row boat plows the water. More than 2/3ds of the canvas is taken up by a blue sky with white and dark-colored clouds.

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According to Bob Haak, Director of the of the Amsterdam Historical Museum, of the Dutch marine painters, Willem van de Velde The Younger is without doubt the best known, and justifiably so. Little wonder since his father and Uncle Adriaen were already well established marine painters. van de Veldepainted naval encounters such as Battle of Kijkduin of 1673 rendering them in color much as his father did in black and white.This painting is traditionally called the Nocturnal Battle. However, the naval battle at Kijkduin, between Cornelis Tromp on the Gouden Leeuw and Sir Edward Spragg on the Royal Prince, actually took place in daylight hours on August 1673. It looks like night only because the encounter is shown partially hidden behind clouds of smoke and gunpowder fumes. While the Dutch flagship is sinking at the right, Tromp battles on from a captured ship.

The battle of Texel was fought on 11 August 1673, the last great battle against the Dutch in the 17th century. Note that the painting was completed 13 years after the actual battle.Considered the finest sea-piece by Van de Velde; it shows the battle between the 'Gouden Leeuw' and the 'Royal Prince'.

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Battle of Kijkduin took place off the southern coast of island of Texel on 21 August 1673 between the Dutch and the combined English and French fleets. It was the last major battle of the 3rd

Anglo-Dutch War, which was itself part of the Franco-Dutch War (1672–1678), during which Louis XIV invaded the Republic and sought to establish control over the Spanish Netherlands (Belgium). English involvement came about because of the Treaty of Dover, secretly concluded by Charles II of England, and which was highly unpopular with the English Parliament.The Allied fleet consisted of about 92 ships and 30 fireships while The Dutch fleet of 75 ships and 30 fireships . Although the Dutch ships were smaller on average than their opponents, they were better trained and more experienced. the Dutch Spice Fleet was returning from the Indies, filled with precious cargo. With half the country under French occupation for almost a year, the Dutch Republic's finances were in disastrous straits. The Dutch could not afford to lose the wealth the Spice Fleet was bringing, let alone allow it to be captured by the enemy. The battle, which became a grueling encounter between the bulk of the Dutch fleet and the English centre and rear divisions. Both suffered badly during hours of fierce fighting. The rear divisions led by Spragge and Tromp clashed repeatedly, Spragge having publicly sworn to kill or capture his old enemy. Each had to shift their flags to fresh ships three times; on the third occasion, Spragge drowned when the boat transporting him sank. More importantly, his preoccupation with dueling Tromp isolated the English center, and was a key factor in allowing an inferior but better managed fleet to succeed. With both fleets exhausted, the Allies withdrew; although there were no major ship losses, many were seriously damaged and about 3,000 men died, two-thirds of them English or French. The Third Anglo-Dutch War came to an end with the signing of the Treaty of Westminster between the English and the Dutch in 1674.This work, The Battle of Texel, by Willem van de Velde The Elder, painted in 1682 depicts the final battle of the Third Anglo-Dutch War (1672 – 4), where the Dutch successfully fought off an English and French invasion. It may seem strange that the Duke of York should commission a work depicting his enemy’s finest hour, but it could be explained by diplomacy: in 1677 his daughter, later Mary II, married William III of Orange, Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic. Commissioned by the Duke of York, later James II.

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Gerrit Adriaenszoon Berckheyde 1638 –1698 was a Dutch Golden Age painter, active in Haarlem, Amsterdam, and The Hague, who is best known today for his cityscapes.This painting is very precise geometric rendition of the buildings around the Plaats (place). On the right we see a horse riding party setting out, two frisky dogs running and two women seated on the ground, one appears to be nursing an infant. In the background is an elegant horse carriage.The Buitenhof (Outer Court) is a square in The Haague, Netherlands. It is listed in the Top 100 Dutch heritage sites and dates back to the 13th Century.

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In March 1938 immediately after the Anschluss the Krauss family fled Vienna leaving behind their art collection. Gottlieb Kraus was a businessman & honorary consul for Czechoslovakia in Austria. Beginning in the early years of the 20th century, he & his wife Mathilde assembled a notable art collection of over 160 paintings, and in 1923 their apartment at Vienna was opened as a museum so that it could be publicly displayed. The painting, View of a Dutch Square attributed to the Golden Age painter Jan van der Heyden, was one of about 160 looted by the Nazis from the Kraus family in 1941, retrieved by the Allies after the war and returned to the Bavarian State. But instead of ensuring its restitution to the family from which it was stolen, the Bavarian government sold it back to the heir of the Nazi official who bought it during the war. The painting went to Hitler’s friend and photographer, Heinrich Hoffmann. It went to Henriette Hoffmann-von Schirach, Hoffman’s daughter in 1958 who in 1963 sold it at considerable profit (54x what she had paid for it) to the Roman Catholic Xanten Cathedral in Germany. The case is part of a larger scandal that came to light in 2016, after research by the Commission for Looted Art in Europe discovered that hundreds of artworks had been restituted by the Bavarian State to former Nazi owners and their heirs.Jan van der Heyden was trained as a glass engraver and was extremly talented and versatile. Painting was not the sole occupation and interest of van der Heyden. In fact he never joined Amsterdam's painters' guild. Even while his work was in great demand, he did not rely on his art to make a living. His principal source of income was, in fact, not painting. Rather he was employed as engineer, inventor and municipal official. He was clearly greatly preoccupied with the problem of how to fight fires effectively, and, with his brother Nicolaes, devoted much time between 1668 and 1671 to inventing a new, highly successful water pumping mechanism.He devised a street-lighting system for Amsterdam and was in 1669 appointed director of street lighting. In 1673 the two brothers received official appointments to manage the city’s fire-fighting equipment and organization. The two officials

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appointments were sufficient to ensure the prosperity of the artist.

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Jan van der Heyden 1637 – 1712 executed a few landscapes and still lifes, but was chiefly a painter of townscapes, notable for their exceptionally detailed handling. He also created completely imaginary architectural fantasies, so-called capricci(English caprice) anticipating those of 18th-century Venetian painters. Despite the apparently naturalistic style, which was so detailed that every single brick was visible, the artist did not strive for topographical accuracy in his city views. Even in his depictions of recognizable sites he regularly adapted and rearranged the architecture and setting to fit his overall compositional goals. Topographical accuracy was clearly not his primary objective. Rather he strove to present an idealized vision of the world around him. Despite the attention to detail, Jan van der Heyden's primary aim was to achieve an overall harmony in his compositions. The monumental Westerkerk completed in 1639 was intended to be the city’s principal Reform church and was long regarded as the finest church in the world built for Protestant worship; until construction of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London it was also the largest. Many eminent citizens of Amsterdam were buried there including Rembrandt. The church is partly blocked from view by the Westerhal that served as the civic guard’s main guard house. This building has since been pulled down, as has the brick bridge over the canal. The imposing church stands out sharply against the bright blue sky. The meticulous details such as the bricks, paving slabs, and foliage of the trees is characteristic of van der Heyden.

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Jan van der Heyden had a remarkable ability to capture the flavor and feeling of Amsterdam, even in fancifully conceived images such as this one. He understood the sense of the city one gains by wandering along its canals: the glimpses of imposing buildings behind trees lining the Herengracht and Keizersgracht, and the countless activities found on the quays and on boats along the still waters. He also introduced marvelous effects of light that enliven a city so defined by its topography, including reflections in the water that mirror the physical reality above.Quite remarkably, the massive, stone, church tower rising just beyond the brick dwellings is not an Amsterdam building at all. Van der Heyden based this tower on that of the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerkin Veere, and often inserted this formidable Romanesque structure into fancifully conceived city views. The massive, somewhat squat, stone structure makes an appealing visual contrast to the more refined, seventeenth-century dwellings that lined Amsterdam’s most prominent canals. The Romanesque church grounds the painting’s compositional structure, serving as a firm apex to the receding diagonal that draws the viewer’s eye, however

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slowly, into the distance along the canal banks.

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Pieter Saenredam specialized in architectural interiors starting in 1628 and made his first sketches for this work in 1633-1634. He then used these as the basis for a 1643 preparatory drawing to establish the perspective, finally completing the painting itself in 1649, as shown by the date painted on the bench to the left.Interior of the Sint-Odulphuskerk in Assendelf is seen from the choir westwards. Bright, clear light fills this white washed church, in which a sermon is being preached from the pulpit. Saenredamcreated a sense of space with his consistent use of perspective, in which all the orthogonal lines converge at the same point. This church was special to the painter: not only was he born in Assendelft, but the gravestone of his father, Jan Saenredam, bearing an inscription, can be seen on the floor in the right foreground. Notice also that this church is void of any paintings, decorations, etc. typical of Dutch Reform churches.This painting is in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, painted on panel in 1649.

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Interior of the Oude Kerk, Delft 1660 oil on canvas Hendrick , Van Vliet DutchExcelled in painting architectural and perspective views of churches. Painted from a vantage point to the west of Emmanuel de Witte’s depiction of the same church, Van Vliet’s picture gives a somewhat more accurate rendering of certain architectural motifs, such as the carved Renaissance pulpit and the red bricks on the archway leading into the choir. There is an unfinished grave form which a spade protrudes, while a mop is leaning against the column in the foreground. The motif of a fresh grave is an unsettling reference to death amid everyday activity. This serves as a memento mori, an artistic or symbolic reminder of the inevitability of death. There are but a few visitors in the church. Numerous wooden grave signs are attached to the columns.

Interior of the Oude Kerk, Delft probably 1650 Emanuel de Witte DutchOil on wood Despite its profusion of realistic details, De Witte’s interior view of Delft’s Oude Kerk (Old Church) takes considerable liberties with the actual architecture of the church—omitting, for example, a grand sculpted pulpit from the central pier. In this whitewashed interior, heraldic emblems and civic banners have taken the places of the religious paintings and sculpture destroyed during the Iconoclasm. Iconoclasm is the social belief in the importance of the destruction of icons and other images, most frequently for religious or political reasons. The young boys scribbling on the column and the urinating dog on the right show a strikingly irreverent attitude toward the sacred space, while a newly dug grave in the foreground provides a sobering reminder of mortality.

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After commercially unsuccessful attempts at biblical/ mythological paintings Emanuel de Witte found his topic in painting church interiors. He must have been enchanted by Amsterdam’s Oude Kerkas he painted almost 30 interiors of the late-Gothic church. This painting affords a view of a religious service. On the left in the nave is the pulpit from which the minister delivers a sermon, bending slightly forward as he speaks. The foreground is filled with a motley group of churchgoers, not all of whom pay attention to the service. In the foreground a mother sits with her back to the pulpit; one child on her lap and a little boy sits next to her. Their well-defined features suggests that these were individual portraits, including the man standing behind the mother, who puts money in the collection pouch.The foremost pillar on the left bears an unidentified epitaph. On the left we see the still-extant organ, built in 1658. De Witte created more that just a portrait of a church, he convincingly captured the atmosphere in the church on a bright day during a service. He has so many men, women and children and even a few dogs that it is almost a genre scene.

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Emanuel de Witte (1617–1692) was a Dutch perspective painter. In contrast to Pieter Saenredam, who emphasized architectural accuracy, De Witte was more concerned with the atmosphere of his interiors. de Witte also produced few genre paintings.The Portuguese Synagogue was completed in 1675. The Amsterdam Sephardic community was one of the largest and richest Jewish communities in Europe during the Dutch Golden Age, and their very large synagogue reflected this. The synagogue remains an active place of worship and is also a popular tourist attraction.A substantial migration of conversos, Jews forced to convert to Catholicism, from the Iberian Peninsula to Amsterdam took place from the 1600s to the early 1800s. Once in Amsterdam, many returned to Judaism openly and publicly. They called themselves Portuguese Jews, even though some came directly from Spain. They wanted to avoid being identified with Spain, which was at war with the Dutch Republic at the time during the Eighty Years’ War.The interior of the Portuguese Synagogue is of the longitudinal Iberian-Sephardic type. The Holy Ark is situated in the South East Corner of the building and faces Jerusalem. On the other side of the room, opposite of the ark, is the bimah, a raised platform where rabbi and cantor lead services. The men are depicted wearing white tallisim (prayer shawls with fringes on the four corners) that are worn during services.The Women's Gallery is supported by twelve stone columns, each which represents one of the Twelve Tribes. In addition to these columns, there are four large brass chandeliers that hold a total of a thousand candles. All of the candles are lit in the synagogue during worship services. To this day the Portuguese Synagogue is

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still candle lit, deliberately NOT electrified.

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