Pieter Saenredam. Pieter Jansz.
Saenredam was a painter of the Dutch Golden Age, known for his distinctive paintings of whitewashed church interiors such as Interior of St Bavo's Church in Haarlem and Interior of the Sint-Odulphuskerk in Assendelft. Saenredam was born in Assendelft, the son of the Northern Mannerist printmaker and draughtsman Jan Pietersz Saenredam whose sensuous naked goddesses are in great contrast with the work of his son.
In 1612 Saenredam moved permanently to Haarlem, where he became a pupil of Frans de Grebber. In 1614 he became a member of the Haarlem Guild of St. Luke.
A drawing in the British Museum by his friend Jacob Van Campen shows him to be very short and hunch backed. He died in Haarlem.
Saenredam was a contemporary of the painter-architects Jacob van Campen, Salomon de Bray, and Pieter Post. Saenredam specialized in the representation of church interiors. These pictures were based on precise measurements of the building and meticulously-rendered sketches, done on site, in pencil, pen, and chalk, after which washes were applied. Painting took place in the studio, often years after the studies were made. Saenredam's emphasis on even light and geometry is brought out by comparing his works with those of the rather younger Emanuel de Witte, who included people, contrasts of light and such clutter of church furniture as remained in Calvinist churches, all usually igno