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Floor slab of Joost Corneliszoon van Lodensteyn, burgomaster of Delft, 1660, Oude Kerk, Delft 

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Floor slab of Joost Corneliszoon van Lodensteyn, burgomaster of Delft, 1660, Oude Kerk, Delft 

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Emanuel de Witte, Interior of the Oude Kerk, Delft, c.1650

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Emanuel de Witte, Interior of the Oude Kerk, Delft, c.1650

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The main pulpit situated in the centre of the church dates back to 1548, made by an unknown artist.

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The Iconoclasm of 1566 and 1572 destroyed virtually everything considered Roman Catholic in the church, but the pulpit was spared. As a result, we today can still enjoy its fine carving.

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I - 1548 Pulpit
D - Johannes Vermeer Gravestone
VIII - Name Boards
XI - Nave
XII - Choir

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The boards list in chronological order the names of all the ministers who have served the Reformed Municipality of Delft since 1572. It honours predecessors, in line with the Biblical directive to ‘Remember your leaders who spoke the word of God to you'. It is also an expression of gratitude for the fact that people have had the freedom to share the word of God for centuries, and that it is still continued.

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Emanuel de Witte, Old Church in Delft with Pulpit, 1651, oil on an oak panel, 59 x 43 cm, London, The Wallace Collection 

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Emanuel de Witte, Old Church in Delft with Pulpit, 1651, oil on an oak panel, 59 x 43 cm, London, The Wallace Collection 

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Name Board in Oude Kerk, Amsterdam

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The church interiors dating from 1650s were the first paintings in Delft to reveal an original approach to the subject of space interiors inhabited by everyday people.

During his residency in Delft, the artist painted the interior of the Oude Kerk with considerable exactness.

The space is presented in a coherent way with almost a crystal-clear daylight, which seems to be giving the virtual effect of the viewers' perception. In such environment the figures are no longer the accessory “staffage” as in most of earlier architectural paintings, but an integral part of the picture. By reducing the scale of the figures, De Witte increases the apparent immensity of the structure of the church.

The bare white interior of Oude Kerk and the central position of the large pulpit reflects the Protestant doctrine of the primacy of the word (the sermon). It focuses attention upon the minister, the only active figure, preaching from the pulpit to a large congregation.

The delicate gradation of the tones and innovative use of light on the pillars and floors creates an indistinct, hazy atmosphere, which enhances the feeling of space as well as intensifies the religious mood.

The artist aimed to present space and atmosphere through vivid contrasts of light and shadow, in a similar way as his contemporaries in Delft did (for example Vermeer and De Hooch). The bright rays of sunlight soften the powerful weight of columns and help to create an illusion of space.

With the decline of portraiture and history painting, came an awareness of the physical environment and Delft became one of the greatest reflections of the local character.

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Jan Luyken (1649-1712), The Iconoclasm of the 1568s, Amsterdam, ca. 1679

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Jan Luyken (1649-1712), The Iconoclasm of the 1568s, Amsterdam, ca. 1679

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This memorial slab commemorates burgomaster Joost Corneliszoon van Lodensteyn, his wife and their successors. Situated in the choir of the church, it is still in a good condition despite the inevitable wear and tear from four centuries of footsteps.

We can see the two curtains being lifted to reveal to us a personification of death. The skeleton figure directs its empty eye-sockets towards the viewer. Throughout that period allegorical representations of Death are often found on tomb monuments across Europe. At first sight Death’s head appears to be encircled by a halo, but this turns out to be an ouroboros, a classical symbol that represents the cycle of life, and thus we can presume that it embodies hope.

Historical context

Commemorative stone slabs date from the time when those who could afford it were buried in individual or family graves under the church floor (practice abolished in the early nineteenth century). Each of the stones covering graves under the church floor represented a sign of wealth and status.

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The etching served as an illustration for a history work. It depicts an iconoclasm scene that occurred in the 1568s in the Netherlands. Inside a church, men and women destroy images and statues of saints.

Historical Context
The Seventeen Provinces of the Netherlands were under the rule of the King of Spain (Philip II), since 1556. Several Protestant currents - mainly Calvinism - were quickly inaugurated there and the region saw numerous acts of iconoclasm evolving. These violent acts were the result of religious demands, as well as, of growing political opposition. The struggle of the Calvinists against the power of the Pope was taking place alongside the struggle for the independence of part of the Dutch aristocracy opposed to the crown of Spain.
At the end of the Fourteenth Years War in 1568, the seven northern provinces, with a Protestant majority, obtained their autonomy and formed the United Provinces.

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This particular view was recorded from the south aisle in the Oude Kerk, looking to the northeast. To the left we can see the pavement of the nave, which, near the man conversing with a woman and child, turns in to the large space of the north transept arm.

Despite the general impression of faithfulness to the site, De Witte has eliminated some major elements from Oude Kerk itself and has altered the overall effect of space. For example, the artist omitted a grand sculpted pulpit from the central pier. His painting of 1651 is considered a much more accurate depiction. Nonetheless, in this art piece we still experience the whitewashed interior, as well as, heraldic emblems and civic banners taking the places of religious paintings. The young boys scribbling on the column and the urinating dog on the right show a striking attitude toward the sacred space, which shifts the atmosphere of the interior from a religious one to more of an informal, everyday view.

Reminder about mortality in the foreground

The freshly dug grave reminds us that everyday life is lasting for a very short time, while the church itself (the faith for which it stands), promises life after death. The image as a whole, originally displayed in a private home, implies belief in the local church as a way to redemption.

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Hendrick van Vliet, Interior of the Oude Kerk, Delft, 1660

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Hendrick van Vliet, Interior of the Oude Kerk, Delft, 1660

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Van Vliet’s picture gives us a somewhat more accurate depiction of certain architectural motifs, such as the pulpit and the red bricks on the archway leading into the choir. The artist's attention has fallen upon the fresh grave in the foreground, which shares De Witte’s motif of an unsettling reference to death amongst everyday activity.

The diagonal arrangement emphasises height, depth, and the impression of space expanding away from a close point of view. Nevertheless, the proportions of the architecture vary from those found at the site. The arches are too long in relation to width. At the same time the columns' shafts are made shorter and the figures under scaled, which gives us the capability to notice the enormity of the space depicted.