Saenredam's churches: space on a small panel
two church interiors by Pieter Jansz. Saenredam are currently on display in Amsterdam and Utrecht.
Pieter Jansz. Saenredam made church interiors a subject of his own. The Rijksmuseum displays his 1649 Interior of the Sint-Odulphuskerk in Assendelft in Gallery 2.14. The oil painting on panel measures 49.6 by 75 centimetres.
In the Assendelft interior, the lines converge on a single vanishing point, the Rijksmuseum explains. This consistent central perspective creates a sense of space on a relatively small surface. The place was personal to Saenredam: he was born in Assendelft and painted his father’s gravestone in the right foreground.
An inscription on a pew in the choir names the village, the painter and the date, 2 October 1649. The Rijksmuseum also draws attention to the plain Protestant interior. Architectural details carry the scene without a crowded narrative.
A second work is in Utrecht. The Centraal Museum lists The Northern Aisle of St Mary’s Church in Utrecht as currently on display in Collectie Centraal. It too is an oil painting on panel, measuring about 34 by 49 centimetres. The work is tentatively dated to 1641.
A preparatory drawing of the Utrecht church interior is held by Het Utrechts Archief. The permanent Collectie Centraal display includes more than 400 works from across the museum’s collections.
Both panels show Saenredam’s interest in architecture and perspective.