The Oude Kerk in Amsterdam during a Service

Amsterdam turned Protestant in 1578, and in the Oude Kerk, the city's oldest church, the altars and images of the old faith were taken out and the sermon became the centre of worship. Emanuel de Witte had moved to Amsterdam from Delft by 1652, and this canvas, from around 1654, is one of his early views of the building. A congregation has gathered for the service, listening to the preacher, some of them following along in their Bibles. The painting later travelled far. It was in a private collection in St Petersburg, came through the Amsterdam dealer Jacques Goudstikker in 1930, and was bought by the Mauritshuis in 1936 with help from the Rembrandt Association. It hangs today in the Gallery Prince Willem V in The Hague.