PIETER NEEFS THE ELDER (Antwerp 1578 / 1590 – Antwerp 1656 / 1661)
An Evening Mass with Archduke Albert and Archduchess Isabella in Attendance
signed and inscribed above the painting over the altar:
PEETER. NEFS / DEN.TWEEDEN. / PATER NOSTER,
and dated on the coat of arms on the column in the center right 1612
oil on panel
14 1/2 x 12 5/8 inches (36.8 x 32.1 cm.)
PIETER NEEFS: DIVISIVE OR INCLUSIVE?
In much of Europe, churches from Gothic to 20th century play a central part in the layout of any village, town or city. Often located in the center, the architecture demanding attention, these powerful buildings rise above anything around them. They were built to send a message to residents near and far of the power of the Church. However, in our time it feels as if many of these building have become less and less religious and more and more ‘just another old building’. Particularly in Northern Europe, they are often used for civic events, markets, and performances, but rarely for the purpose they were intended – worship. This seems to reflect the modern phenomenon – declining interest in religion as a whole – but it is actually not the case.
From the late 15th century onward, the city of Antwerp experienced an enormous demographic and economic expansion becoming the commercial metropolis of the West. Merchants from all over Europe settled in Antwerp giving the city a cosmopolitan feel. The rapid economic growth had an extensive impact on the city’s social and cultural life. A small number of merchants and bankers realized big fortunes and triggered a highly polarized wealth structure. Sounds familiar right? This economic expansion encouraged cultural and artistic activities and unsurprisingly, artists flocked to Antwerp for opportunities. From 1566 onward Antwerp played a key role in the Dutch Revolt (Beeldenstorm), but by 1585 rebellious Antwerp surrendered to the Spanish army and quickly became a stronghold of the Counter-Reformation. From the first half of the 17th century the economy experienced a second boom sending art production into overdrive, re-constructing and re-decorating churches, turning Antwerp into an international center of baroque art.
At the same time that Antwerp was artistically booming with church re-decoration, the genre of church interior paintings was increasing in popularity in northern Europe. The Beeldenstorm in 1566, a series of events during which churches were plundered and their Catholic decorations removed or destroyed, was a starting point of a far-reaching transformation, but by the early 17th century the Reformation was in full swing. Church interiors -the altars, statues and other decorative elements replaced by white-washed walls - became obsolete civic spaces filled with everyday activities, not exclusively restricted to preaching God’s word any more. This is reflected in many church interior paintings, where a clean white washed interior plays backdrop to figures in mundane activity, including children at play, couples strolling down the aisles, beggars and even dogs urinating. The latter was perhaps the strongest symbol of this transition of the church as a building: from a holy temple to a civic, urban everyday space.
Against this setting of economic and artistic boom, we find Pieter Neefs the Elder, literally standing at the crossroads of the Reformation and Counter Reformation. Neefs the Elder is presumed to have been born in Antwerp and was the half- brother of the engraver Jacob Neefs. Although Neefs’ early training is undocumented, it is believed that he worked closely with Hendrick van Steenwyck the Younger as well as to some degree with his father Hendrick van Steenwyck the Elder, as their influence on his work is unmistakable. In this work, Neefs who was a Roman Catholic, signed his name above the altar and followed it with the inscription DEN.TWEEDEN. / PATER NOSTER. This is a reference to the second part of the Pater Noster (the Lord’s Prayer). The painting which was certainly a commercial venture, must also be viewed as a testament to the artist’s faith.
Neefs’ work has, at times, been called propaganda for the Catholic Counter Reformation and show – as in this work - a whole array of on-going Catholic ecclesiastical activities. In this particular panel, an evening mass being held in a side chapel of a large church or cathedral is depicted. As Neefs often does, he has painted dogs in the picture along with various other characters which appear to include a begging woman, traveller, priests, a dwarf, and here with Archduke Albert and Archduchess Isabella. Curiously, interior decoration aside, he has presented the church as a civic, urban space that just happens to be holding a Catholic ritual. Was this truly a propaganda piece, trying to show that Catholicism and Calvinism were not that far apart, attempting to bridge the gap between the hard right of Catholicism and the hard left of Calvinism? To our 21st century mind, these arguments feel like two sides of the same coin. What do you think they will say about our political right and left in 500 years? We probably all already know the answer to that!
15 June 2021
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