Interior of the Antwerp Cathedral

A favourite subject that made Pieter Neeffs the Elder and his son, Pieter Neeffs the Younger, famous was the depiction of the interior of the Antwerp Cathedral. The story of the creation and reconstruction of this building is an interesting one. The decoration of the Gothic cathedral, which was begun in 1352 and completed in the early 17th century, suffered badly during the iconoclast disturbances (1566-81/82). In the early 1600s the cathedral's sanctuary and monuments were restored. Between 1610 and 1657 sculptures of the Virgin and apostles were set up above the columns of the nave, but in the late 18th century these were destroyed. The large number of variant interior depictions of Our Lady's Cathedral produced in the Neeffs' studio was a reflection of the quantity of orders from travellers who visited Antwerp and took views of the recently restored cathedral home with them as a kind of souvenir. The figures in the Hermitage painting were executed by David Teniers the Younger who often collaborated with masters of the architectural genre.