View of Saint Mary's Square and Saint Mary's Church, Utrecht

Pieter Jansz. Saenredam (in 1662)

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Maya asked

Does this church still exist?
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen answered

Hi Maya, the church doesn't exist anymore. It was demolished at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Kind regards, Els
Ben James asked

Is there any information about the tiny figures in the foreground? They’re so out of scale with the rest of the painting they look like fairies - what do historians think they’re doing there?
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen answered

Hello Ben,
Interesting observation! It would be fascinating if there were fairies in this painting, but it is more likely they are just small kids playing in front of the church with something like a net and a cart (on the left). I hope this is not a disappointing answer!
Kind regards,
Manus

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Bernlef on ‘View on St. Mary’s Square’ by Pieter Saenredam

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This street scene of Utrecht shows the Dom tower in the middle, to the left the towers of the Buur church and to the right the Maria church. The extensive documentation by Pieter Saenredam on his drawings, construction plans and paintings, allows us to trace the way his works arose. He made the pre-study for this painting in Utrecht in 1636. The panel, however, is dated 1662, so 26 years after he made the drawing.

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Specifications

Title	View of Saint Mary's Square and Saint Mary's Church, Utrecht
Material and technique	Oil on panel
Object type	Painting > Painting > Two-dimensional object > Art object
Location	This object is in storage

Dimensions	Height 109,5 cm Width 139,5 cm
Artists	Painter: Pieter Jansz. Saenredam
Accession number	1765 (OK)
Credits	Purchased 1872
Department	Old Masters
Acquisition date	1872
Creation date	in 1662
Internal exhibitions	The Collection Enriched (2011) De collectie als tijdmachine (2017) Lievelingen (2024)
External exhibitions	Maestro van Wittel - Hollandse meester van het Italiaanse stadsgezicht (2019) Boijmans bij de Buren - Meesterlijk! (2019) De Gezonde Stad (2022) Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen @ Rijksmuseum (2023)
Material	Oil > Paint > Artist's material > Material > Material and technique Panel > Worked wood > Wood > Vegetable material > Organic material > Material > Material and technique
Object	Painting > Painting > Two-dimensional object > Art object
Geographical origin	Northern Netherlands > The Netherlands > Western Europe > Europe

All about the artist

Pieter Jansz. Saenredam

Assendelft 1597 - Haarlem 1665

Pieter Saenredam is a Haarlem painted who specialised in Dutch church interiors. His paintings are characterised by his cool use of colour and the strict,...

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