Lot 1037 Dα

Pieter Neefs the Elder was accepted as a master by the Guild of Saint Luke in his hometown of Antwerp in 1610. He specialised in church interiors. Although his church scenes are depicted in stark orthogonal perspective, he enlivens them with rich contrasts of light and shadow. He often painted the same church interiors in daylight and by night. Although Neefs has left us with a relatively large œuvre of around 400 paintings and known to have collaborated with some of the most important artists of his era, including Jan Brueghel the Elder and Frans Francken the Younger, he died a pauper. The exact date of his death is currently unknown.