The wealth of the church in medieval and Renaissance times led to churches being the most prominent buildings in villages, towns and cities. They were certainly the tallest, their spires announcing the presence of God through their height and the sound of their bells. They are thus significant features of townscapes of all periods and church architecture appears in the background of all types of religious paintings.
Churches are notable in seventeenth-century Dutch art as a distinct subject with specialist painters like Pieter Jansz. Saenredam and Peeter Neeffs the elder. After the Protestant reformation these churches had been stripped of their altarpieces, sculptures and wall paintings. Their bare, whitewashed interiors make striking compositions, with tiny figures in dramatic perspectives.
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