The Interior of Antwerp Cathedral by day c.1640
Oil on panel | 46.3 x 64.1 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external) | RCIN 405488
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This is one of a pair of panels showing Antwerp cathedral by day (in this case) and by night (in the case of CWLF 48, 405489). They can both be dated to c. 1640. The vanishing point in this painting is marked by a pin-hole; this held a piece of string which helped to draw all the lines converging on this point (the so-called ‘orthogonals’). Works of this kind were called ‘perspectives’ in the seventeenth century; it is possible to imagine original viewers examining them from exactly the right position (with one eye) to get the full three-dimensional effect. It is clear even to the naked eye that the architecture was painted first and the figures added over the top of a complete interior. This does not mean that the figures are irrelevant: a pilgrim arrives to the right and a man gives alms to the left, both acts of obvious spiritual significance.
Provenance
Acquired by George III in 1762 as part of the collection of Joseph Smith, British Consul in Venice (Dutch and Flemish list, no 116); possibly previously owned by Antonio Pellegrini.
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Creator(s)
Acquirer(s)
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Medium and techniques
Oil on panel
Measurements
46.3 x 64.1 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external)
66.0 x 83.5 x 4.0 cm (frame, external)
Other number(s)