Interior of Saint Bavo's Church, Haarlem
Medium
pen and brown ink with gray wash and touches of red chalk over graphite on laid paper, squared in red chalk; laid down
Dimensions
overall: 49.1 x 35.8 cm (19 5/16 x 14 1/8 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
The Woodner Collection, Gift of Dian Woodner
Accession Number
2015.149.1
Rights
Public Domain
Art Historical Context
Pieter Jansz Saenredam’s 1635 drawing captures the luminous interior of Saint Bavo’s Church in Haarlem, a soaring Gothic structure that had been transformed after the Protestant Reformation. Whitewashed walls and cleared altars replaced the colorful Catholic decorations of earlier centuries, allowing Saenredam to emphasize vast empty space, slender columns, and shafts of daylight streaming through tall windows. Such views became emblematic of Dutch Golden Age art, reflecting both civic pride and a new spiritual calm. Executed in pen and brown ink with delicate gray washes and touches of red c...