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Ambulatory of the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft, with the Tomb of William the Silent

Gerard Houckgeest1651

Mauritshuis

Mauritshuis
Den Haag, Netherlands

This painting of the Nieuwe Kerk, or New Church, in the city of Delft is a real perspectival feat. We are standing in the choir aisle, behind the tomb of William of Orange. We have a wide field of vision: on the left is the nave of the church and on the right the curve of the ambulatory. In order to depict this, Houckgeest used a complex perspectival construction, called ‘diagonal perspective’. He obviously found it difficult, as the black and white tiles on the right are slightly distorted.

Details

  • Title: Ambulatory of the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft, with the Tomb of William the Silent
  • Creator: Houckgeest, Gerard
  • Date Created: 1651
  • Physical Dimensions: h65.5 cm x w77.5 cm
  • Provenance: Johan Anthony van Kinschot, Delft, until 1767; Prince William V, The Hague, 1767
  • Type: Painting
  • Medium: Oil on panel

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