  About the Artwork
  
  
  The subject of this impressive composition is the Oude Kerk — the majestic church that was also Amsterdam’s oldest building. Capturing the magnificent architecture bathed in light, Emanuel De Witte also celebrated the spiritual character of this house of worship, as parishioners of all ages and genders listen intently to the words of the preacher at the pulpit in the background. Founded around 1213 and consecrated in 1306 by the bishop of Utrecht, the Oude Kerk became a Calvinist church in 1578. Rembrandt van Rijn was a frequent visitor to the Oude Kerk, and his children were christened here. De Witte, a prominent architectural artist, made no fewer than thirty-eight paintings of the church.
  
  
  Title
  Interior of the Oude Kerk in Amsterdam
  
  
  Artwork Date
  1686
  
  Artist
  Emanuel de Witte
  
  
  
  Life Dates
  ca. 1617-between 1691 and 1692
  
  
  
  
  Nationality
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events.
  Some definitions include:
  Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation.
  
  
  
  Dutch
  
  
  
  Culture
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group.
  
  
  
  
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  Medium
  Oil on canvas
  
  
  Dimensions
  Unframed: 47 × 39 5/8 inches (119.4 × 100.6 cm)
  Framed: 56 1/8 × 48 3/4 × 4 1/2 inches (142.6 × 123.8 × 11.4 cm)
  
  
  Classification
  Paintings
  
  
  Department
  European Painting
  
  
  Credit
  Founders Society Purchase, Edsel B. Ford Fund
  
  
  
  Accession Number
  
  
  
  This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection.
  Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings.
  For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups.
  
  
  
  37.1
  
  
  Copyright
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