An Evening Service in a Church

Pieter Neeffs painted this nocturnal church interior, but it was another Antwerp artist, Bonaventura Peeters, who did the many figures. Only Neeffs signed the picture, however, followed by the year it was painted (1649). The painting, which depicts a chapel during Mass, is a more elaborate version of another work made in Neeff's studio, which is also in the National Gallery's collection: View of a Chapel at Evening.

Here, a piece of fabric with a red cross partially covers an altarpiece that forms the backdrop for Mass. The priest faces the altar, on which a carved crucifix and two tall candles stand. The altar boys kneeling to the sides hold long tapers, used to light the candles. Many have gathered to hear the service, and kneel in contemplation; some read prayer books or Bibles. The light coming from the chapel allows a view beyond it and into the dark church.

Credit: Bequeathed by Henry Callcott Brunning, 1907