Saenredam, Pieter Jansz(oon)

(born June 9, 1597, Assendelft, Neth.—buried May 31, 1665, Haarlem) Dutch painter. Son of an engraver, he became a friend of the architect Jacob van Campen (1595–1657), which may have influenced him to specialize in architectural painting. A pioneer of the “church portrait,” he was the first Dutch artist to abandon the Mannerist tradition of fanciful invention in architectural painting in favour of a new realism in rendering specific buildings. His paintings of church interiors show a scrupulous precision and convey a majestic spaciousness and serenity.

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