about the painting and painter

In the distance, in a large, light church a congregation is listening to a sermon. The figures are tiny and the space immense. This church interior was painted in 1649 by Pieter Saenredam. It shows the Protestant church of St Odulphus in Assendelft. Saenredam specialised in painting church interiors. He depicted the inside of these buildings with great precision and attention to colour and atmosphere. The extreme brightness of the airy space and the utter tranquility emanating from this picture, make it one of Saenredam's most beautiful works.
Saenredam achieves a modern look in his painting by using very even light, subtlety modulated, and removing detailed depiction of textures in his meticulously measured and drawn sketches of the church. He would make these sketches in pencil, pen, and chalk, then and add in watercolor to help give the sketch texture and color. The sketches are very detailed, conveying the interior atmosphere through the clever use of light and graduated shadows. Saenredam deliberately made people seem insignificant and left some church furniture out of his work, thus also focusing more attention on buildings and their architectural forms. Only after having made precise measurements, and precise sketches and drawings of the churches, he would take them to his studio where he started to create his painting, after a delay of many years therefore he seeks for perfection in his work.