Interior of a Protestant, Gothic Church, with a Gravedigger in the Choir

Interior of a Protestant, Gothic Church, with a Gravedigger in the Choir

SK-A-4054

signature and date: ‘E. De Witte Aº 1669’

The depiction of church interiors was a separate speciality. De Witte was one of the last 17th-century artists to concentrate on these perspectival masterpieces. This painting offers an oblique ‘through-view’ into a church. The columns in the foreground lead the eye into the distance. In the background the light falls on a gravedigger; it was customary for eminent citizens to be buried in churches.

painter: Emanuel de Witte

1669

olieverf op paneel

height 44.5 cm x width 33.5 cm

De Bruijn-van der Leeuw Bequest, Muri, Switzerland

bequest 1961

Public domain

…; ? sale [seller `S´],{Ms note in the copy of the EBNP, that may have belonged to the dealer P. van der Schley; GPI, Sale Catalogs N-135. According to the GPI it is likely that this seller was either P. van der Schley or Theodorus Spaan, but Hofstede de Groot mentioned Spaan as buyer in his notes at the RKD.} Amsterdam (P. van der Schley et al.), 28 November 1808 sqq., no. 67 (`Twee stuks Gezichten in de Oude Kerk te Amsterdam, rijk met Beelden gestoffeerd […], op Paneel […]. Ieder is hoog 17, breed 14 duim [43.7 x 36 cm]´), fl. 100, bought in;{Copy AA.} …; ? sale, Jonkheer Tjaard Anthony van Iddekinge (1756-1837, Amsterdam), Amsterdam (J. de Vries et al.), 25 April 1838 sqq., nos. 29, 30 (`hoog en breed als de vorige [hoog 4 p. 3 d., breed 3 p. 4 d. (43 x 34 cm) Paneel.] Gezigt in dezelfde Kerk [Oude Kerk Amsterdam], gestoffeerd met wandelende beelden, een graf aan hetwelk gewerkt wordt, een hond enz. […]´), fl. 500, fl. 550, to Brondgeest;{Copy RKD} …; collection Johan Gijsbert, Baron Verstolk van Soelen (1776-1845), Rotterdam and The Hague;{According to coll. cat. Northbrook 1885, p. 35.} purchased by Thomas Baring (1799-1873) 2nd Baronet of Northbrook, London and Stratton Park, Hampshire, through the mediation of the dealer Albertus Brondgeest, 1846;{Thomas Baring jointly purchased the Verstolk Collection in 1846 with Samuel Jones Loyd and Humphrey Mildmay. That same year he obtained the sole ownership of both paintings from the joint purchase. Coll. cat. Northbrook 1889, appendix (unpag.).} his nephew, Thomas George Baring (1826-1904), 1st Earl of Northbrook;{Coll. cat. Northbrook 1889, introduction (unpag.} his son, Francis George Baring (1850-1929), 2nd Earl of Northbrook, London;{London 1929, no. 300.} …; purchased by the dealer P. and D. Colnaghi, London, between 1929 and July 1931; from whom £ 2,200 to Isaac de Bruijn (1872-1953), Spiez and Muri, near Bern, July 1931;{Note RMA.} donated to the museum by Isaäc de Bruijn and his wife, Johanna Geertruida de Bruijn- van der Leeuw (1877-1960), Spiez and Muri, near Bern, 1949, but kept in usufruct;{Note RMA.} transferred to the museum, 1961;{Provenance reconstructed in Manke 1963, pp. 99-100, 104, nos. 94, 109.}

Please note that this provenance was formulated with a special focus on provenance research for the years 1933-45 and could therefore be incomplete. There may be more (mostly earlier) provenance information known in the museum. In case this item has an uncertain or incomplete provenance for the years 1933-45, the Rijksmuseum welcomes information and assistance in the investigation and clarification of the provenance of all works during that era.

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https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200108408