Interior of St Bavo's Church, Haarlem
Pieter Jansz. Saenredam, 1636
Whitewashed Gothic and clean Dutch light. The Grote Kerk opens like a hall of air—no candles, no gloom.
About this work
The Interior of St Bavo's Church, Haarlem (the 'Grote Kerk') is a 1648 oil on panel by Pieter Jansz. Saenredam, now in the Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh. Looking down the whitewashed Gothic nave and aisle, it shows tall columns, pointed arches and a star-ribbed vault in pale, even light, with a few tiny figures at floor level. Saenredam, born in Assendelft in 1597, moved to Haarlem in 1612 and specialised in church interiors. St Bavo's, a medieval church, was a Catholic cathedral until 1578, when it was taken over for the Reformed faith. Saenredam painted it at least eleven times from different viewpoints, and the National Galleries of Scotland calls this one, by far the largest at 174.8 by 143.6 cm, one of his greatest paintings. The museum explains that he worked from a preliminary sketch and a precise measured drawing, but then took liberties, deliberately stretching the proportions of the pillars and vault to make the space feel more monumental. He wrote his signature and the date on the left-hand column like graffiti, beside a scribbled sketch that may represent Saint Bavo with his falcon. Edinburgh bought the painting in 1982 with help from the National Heritage Memorial Fund, the Art Fund and the Pilgrim Trust.
Sources: National Galleries of Scotland: The Interior of St Bavo's Church, Haarlem (NG 2413) · Wikipedia: Pieter Jansz. Saenredam · Wikipedia: Grote Kerk, Haarlem
Print facts
- Native resolution
- 5,287 × 6,528 px
- Sharp at 150 ppi up to
- 35 × 43 in
- Sizes
- Small (16 × 20 in) · $100 · 326 ppi
Medium (19 × 24 in) · $150 · 272 ppi
Large (29 × 36 in) · $300 · 181 ppi - Price includes
- Frame and US shipping · 14–21 days · 30-day returns
FAQ
Where can I buy a framed print of Interior of St Bavo's Church, Haarlem?
Here. Interior of St Bavo's Church, Haarlem is available as a framed print in three sizes: Small (16 × 20 in) for $100, Medium (19 × 24 in) for $150 and Large (29 × 36 in) for $300. Prices include the frame and US shipping; delivery takes 14–21 days, with 30-day returns.
What size works best for Interior of St Bavo's Church, Haarlem?
The file is 5,287 × 6,528 px, so every size is sharp: even Large (29 × 36 in) prints at 181 ppi. Choose Large (29 × 36 in) for a large wall; Small (16 × 20 in) suits a narrower space.
Is it legal to print Interior of St Bavo's Church, Haarlem?
Yes. Interior of St Bavo's Church, Haarlem is in the public domain: its copyright, if it ever had one, expired long ago. In the United States a faithful photograph of a public-domain painting does not create a new copyright (Bridgeman v. Corel, 1999), so the image can be printed and sold freely.
