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Church of Saint Cecilia, Cologne

Gerrit Adriaensz. Berckheyde

Dutch, 1638–1698

Church of Saint Cecilia, Cologne

c. 1685

The twelfth-century Church of Saint Cecilia appears on the left in this view of the German city of Cologne. It is one of several images of the city’s famous Romanesque churches that Dutch artist Gerrit Berckheyde painted in the seventeenth century. The scene demonstrates Berckheyde’s ability to subtly blend reality and fantasy in the urban landscape. While sharp shadows articulate the actual architectural features of the church, figures performing various activities around the building are likely products of the artist’s imagination, included to create an impression of local life.

Medium oil on canvas
Dimensions 20 3/8 x 24 1/4 in. (51.8 x 61.6 cm)
Object Number 1980.15
Acquisition Bequest of C. C. Cunningham, 1980
Status Off View

Image Caption

Gerrit Adriaensz. Berckheyde, Church of Saint Cecilia, Cologne, c. 1685, oil on canvas. Clark Art Institute, Bequest of C C Cunningham, 1980.15

Select Bibliography

Welu, James A. 17th-Century Dutch Painting: Raising the Curtain on New England Private Collections. Exhibition catalogue. Worcester, MA: Worcester Art Museum, 1979. Anonymous. "La chronique des arts." Gazette des Beaux-Arts 97 (supplement, March 1981). Lawrence, Cynthia. Gerrit Adriaensz. Berckheyde (1638–1698): Haarlem Cityscape Painter. Ars Picturae 2. Doornspijk, Netherlands: Davaco Publishers, 1991. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. List of Paintings in the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1984. Kern, Steven, ed. List of Paintings in the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1992. Sutton, Peter C. A Guide to Dutch Art in America. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. and The Netherlands-America Amity Trust, 1986. Jones, Betsy Burns. One Hundred: An Exhibition to Celebrate the Centennial Year of Smith College. Exhibition brochure. Northampton, MA: Smith College Museum of Art, 1975.

A Loan Exhibition of Fifty Painters of Architecture. Hartford: Wadsworth Athenaeum, 1947.

Commencement Exhibitions: Memorial to Alfred Vance Churchill, Works of Art Belonging to Alumnae, Early Student Room, Smith College Students’ Work. Northampton: Smith College Museum of Art, 1950.

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