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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.