Interior of the Antwerp Cathedral

Pieter Neefs I

Basic information

ID: Ж-796
Author: Pieter Neefs I
Name: Interior of the Antwerp Cathedral
Date of creation: 17th c.
Country: Flanders
Technique: oil painting
Material: wood oil
Dimensions (height x width, cm): 49 x 81.5

Additionally

Type: painting
Genre: architecture painting
Provenance: Collection of Boleslaw Orzechowicz
Exposition: Potocki Palace

Information about author

Author: Pieter Neefs I
Author in the original: Pieter Neefs I
Artist's lifetime: 1578–1657
Country: Flanders
Biography: Pieter Neefs I belonged to a group of Antwerp artists of the first half of the 17th century who specialised in depicting church interiors. This painting genre was formed due to counter-reformation processes aimed at popularising Catholicism. The artist was born in 1578 in Antwerp, where he spent his life. In 1609, he joined the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke. Pieter Neefs I specialised exclusively in depicting real or imagined church interiors. Among his most often represented ones was the interior of the Antwerp Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Hendrik van Steenwijk the Elder, under whom Neefs most likely studied, strongly influenced the artist's works. He often collaborated with other artists on his paintings, such as Frans Francken II and Jan Brueghel the Younger, who created human figures.

Object description

A group of Antwerp painters, including Pieter Neefs I, emerged in the 1580s. They used a clear geometric perspective to depict the space of the interiors realistically. Their works effectively reproduced the depth of the nave space, shown from a slightly elevated vantage point. "The Interior of the Antwerp Cathedral" is one of Neefs' many paintings representing the interior of the Antwerp Cathedral. Those artworks are very similar and differ only in the staffage and individual details of the decor. The Lviv painting shows a perspective view from the main entrance side. There are some figures in the cathedral in the foreground. Little further is a crowd of people listening to the priest's mass in front of the pulpit. Some figures, such as beggars or a woman giving an offering, attract special attention. They most likely emphasise the importance of offering as a Christian virtue. Frans Francken II, who frequently cooperated with Pieter Neefs I, created the figures in the work.

Legal regulation

Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery

Interior of the Antwerp Cathedral

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