Night mass in Antwerp cathedral. Pieter Neefs II (1620-1675)

Monogrammed on the left pillar: PN

Oil on oak panel (single plate)
In its period (17th century) blackened fruitwood frame with upside-down profile and guilloche moldings (very fine model).
Dimensions with frame: 57 x 50 cm. Panel alone: 34 x 26 cm

This precious little painting is in the pure tradition of the Flemish painters who depicted church and cathedral interiors with great precision and charm.
In this panel, Pieter Neefs the Younger has chosen one of the side chapels of Antwerp Cathedral to show us a nocturnal mass. His meticulous rendering of the décor and details includes the tombstones, the religious and civil figures, the large altar painting with the Flight into Egypt, and the two women wearing the strange black cape attached to a headdress with a handle at the top for easy removal.

Born in Antwerp in 1620, Pieter Neefs le Jeune specialized in depicting church interiors. A pupil of his father Pieter Neefs le Vieux, he painted in his style, and adopted some of his compositions. Although comparisons between the works of the two artists are often difficult, Pieter Neefs II's coloring appears smoother and harder, his drawing more precise, and his shadows less marked.

Church interiors, apart from their plastic interest, were seen as a privileged medium for the infinite interplay of rays of light, propagating or reflecting according to the data of a complex and rigorously logical architecture. The laws of perspective are strictly applied, with vanishing lines clearly defined by the grid of tombstones and floor paving. The colors allow the finest details of the architecture to shine through, even in the shadows. Figures and sometimes animals happily enliven this highly faithful image. Technical feat or intellectual game?

The interior of Antwerp Cathedral was one of his favorite subjects, and many of his imaginary church interiors are a pastiche of elements from Antwerp Cathedral. Like his father, he painted many nocturnal scenes of church interiors, sometimes in conjunction with representations of the same interior in daylight.

These church interiors were highly prized by collectors and always featured prominently in the cabinets illustrated by Pieter Neefs' contemporaries Frans Francken and David Teniers.

Most major museums have works by Pieter Neefs the Younger and the Older in their collections.

Very fine original condition. A certificate of appraisal will be given to the buyer.