The Interior of the Buurkerk at Utrecht

This painting - an evocation of light, space, soaring architecture and ordered elegance - shows the inside of the Buurkerk in Utrecht. Several Dutch artists of the time specialised in painting church interiors, but Saenredam was particularly innovative. He exaggerated for effect: here he has stretched the height of the columns, creating a feeling of loftiness and allowing sunlight to flood the building.

The Buurkerk was not a contemporary building; it was constructed between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries. But it had recently been remodelled in the new, unadorned Protestant aesthetic, and Saenredam celebrates this transformation. The walls, once multicoloured, have been whitewashed, and the altarpieces removed.

There are nods to other religious themes, too. The graffiti of the horse with four riders is a reference to the story of Reinout van Montalbaen, who embraced a religious life and helped in the construction of Cologne Cathedral.

Credit: Presented by Arthur Kay, 1902