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Notes
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This view of the interior of a Gothic church is painted from a relatively low viewpoint, making it feel like we are stood in the main aisle – a boy nearby has even noticed us. The artist has created the illusion that we are looking into a vast space: the receding parallel lines of the floor and architecture draw the eye down the nave towards the choir. This is most likely an imaginary church, and similar views with minor variations appear in several paintings by the same artist (for example in the National Gallery of Denmark, Copenhagen). Other painters frequently added the figures in van Steenwyck’s compositions, but here the visitors in the right foreground are probably by the artist himself. The elegantly dressed man and the two women holding hands might be taking part in a wedding ceremony.
Title
The Interior of a Gothic Church looking East
Date
after 1609
Medium
Oil on copper
Measurements
H 10.5 x W 15.3 cm
Accession number
NG4040
Acquisition method
Sir Claude Phillips Bequest, 1924
Work type
Painting
The National Gallery, London
Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England
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