The interior of a church with a congregation listening to a sermon

Details

Emanuel de Witte (Alkmaar c. 1617-1692 Amsterdam)
The interior of a church with a congregation listening to a sermon
signed and dated 'EDewitte 1671' (centre right)
oil on canvas
22¼ x 20 in. (57.2 x 50.7 cm.)

Provenance

Anon. Sale [The Property of a Gentleman], Christie's, London, 9 July 1976, lot 61 (sold £9,500).
Anon. Sale, Christie's, London, 1 December 1978, lot 7 (sold £5,500).

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

De Witte is known to have used artistic licence in the rendition of his church interiors, sometimes incorporating elements from different buildings in the same composition. The master, who moved in the winter of 1651-52 from Delft to Amsterdam, based the architecture of the present work on the Oude Kerk, Amsterdam. The subdued palette is characteristic of De Witte's later works produced after around 1665, and this canvas is comparable with his Interior of the Oude Kerk sold in these Rooms, 17 December 1999, lot 25 (£115,000). Unknown prior to its sale in 1976, this work is consequently unrecorded by Ilse Manke in her monograph on the artist (Emanuel de Witte 1617-1692, Amsterdam, 1963).

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