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The Nave and Choir of the Mariakerk in Utrecht, Pieter Jansz Saenredam, 1641

The Nave and Choir of the Mariakerk in Utrecht, Pieter Jansz Saenredam, 1641

oil on panel, h c.121.5cm × w c.95cm Catalogue entry

In the young Dutch Republic only Reformed Protestant services were still held in the former Catholic churches. Statues and paintings of saints were prohibited. The 11th-century Mariakerk preserved the decorations of the piers, which Saenredam here rendered in great detail – even applying gold leaf. At the left visitors look at an image of a bull on one of the piers: according to legend, this column continued to sink during construction until it was grounded on a bull’s hide.

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