Interior of the Church of St. Laurens at Rotterdam (Primary Title)
Interior of the Church of St. Laurens, Rotterdam (Former Title)
Anthonie De Lorme, Dutch, ca. 1610 - 1673 (Artist)
Paintings of church interiors were popular in the northern Netherlands as they underscored a major difference in religious practices between the northern and southern regions. While Catholics in the southern Netherlands commissioned paintings to decorate their churches, Calvinists in the north rejected the use of paintings for devotion, considering them idolatrous. Shields and banners representing the devoted parishioners punctuated the whitewashed walls of their churches instead.
Church interior paintings often include dogs. A common sight in churches at the time, dogs likely conveyed a moral message: as a counterpoint to the dog relieving himself against the church wall (left), humans should respect the church and its promise of salvation. Though church interior paintings do not represent a specific religious subject to be used for devotion, they undoubtedly inspired religious contemplation and reminded viewers of the importance and beauty of such holy places.
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