Neeffs was one of a number of 17th-century Netherlandish artists specialising in paintings of buildings, especially church interiors. Neeffs entered the Antwerp Guild of painters in 1609 and must have been very poor, for he was in debt to the Guild at the age of 35. He often worked with other artists, adding architectural elements to their pictures. His son, Peter the Younger, studied under him and imitated his style very closely.

This pair of paintings were clearly designed to contrast the effects of daylight and artificial light. They appear to depict the same church, although the tiles are laid diagonally in one picture, and from left to right in the other. The identity of the church is not known, although the presence of statuary would be consistent with a church in Catholic Flanders.