Skip to main content

Pieter Neeffs the Elder and Bonaventura Peeters the Elder, 'An Evening Service in a Church', 1649

About the work

Overview

Pieter Neeffs painted this nocturnal church interior, but it was another Antwerp artist, Bonaventura Peeters, who did the many figures. Only Neeffs signed the picture, however, followed by the year it was painted (1649). The painting, which depicts a chapel during Mass, is a more elaborate version of another work made in Neeff’s studio, which is also in the National Gallery’s collection: View of a Chapel at Evening.

Here, a piece of fabric with a red cross partially covers an altarpiece that forms the backdrop for Mass. The priest faces the altar, on which a carved crucifix and two tall candles stand. The altar boys kneeling to the sides hold long tapers, used to light the candles. Many have gathered to hear the service, and kneel in contemplation; some read prayer books or Bibles. The light coming from the chapel allows a view beyond it and into the dark church.

Key facts

Details

Full title
An Evening Service in a Church
Artist dates
active 1605 - 1656/61; 1614 - 1652
Date made
1649
Medium and support
oil on wood
Dimensions
26.8 × 38.2 cm
Inscription summary
Signed; Dated
Acquisition credit
Bequeathed by Henry Callcott Brunning, 1907
Inventory number
NG2206
Location
Not on display
Collection
Main Collection

About this record

If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.

Images