Label Text:
Van Bassen specialized in painting what Walter Leidtke has called “the realistic imaginary church”: interior views of naturalistically illuminated, composite or wholly invented church interiors. By capturing effects of light and volume that must have resulted from close observations made in actual churches, van Bassen expanded on an earlier tradition of perspectival views, and developed a progressive approach to his subject, distinct from the comparatively conservative style of the Antwerp church painters.
Although the subject of the present painting has not been identified, the presence of a genuflecting figure, a monk, and a painting of the Crucifixion indicate that the church is Catholic. If not based on a real building, then it may include architectural elements derived from one, or from printed sources.
Paintings such as this would inspire the luminous illusionism of the next generation of artists active in Delft around 1650, including not only van Bassen’s likely pupil, Gerrit Houckgeest, but also Pieter de Hooch, Carel Fabritius, and Jan Vermeer.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=AC+1976.4 |
