The Interior of the Nieuwe Kerk, Amsterdam, with a Sermon in Progress

When Amsterdam’s fifteenth-century Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) was rebuilt after a fire in 1645, its renovated furnishings included the richly decorated oak pulpit that figures prominently in this picture. De Witte represents the imposing space as the site of social, as well as religious, congregation: while some listen intently to the preacher, a woman nurses her baby, a boy turns toward his dog, and others simply pass through the building. The slightly oblique view across the transept introduces the kind of perspective challenge that the artist characteristically posed in his works, opening glimpses into the nave through the arcades at the left. De Witte excelled at the nuanced rendering of light and shade on the surfaces of monumental Gothic interiors. Here, his delicate brushwork evokes the daylight broadly washing the walls and columns, shimmering on the brass chandelier, and penetrating the painted windows in the nave and the clear glass across the transept.