Emanuel de Witte
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Emanuel de Witte (1617 – 1691) was a Dutch perspective painter, born in Alkmaar. He joined the Guild of St Luke in Alkmaar in 1636. After a few years in Rotterdam he was trained by Evert van Aelst in Delft.
Initially, Emanuel de Witte painted portraits as well as mythological and religious scenes. After his move from Delft in 1651 he specialized in representing church interiors. In contrast to Pieter Jansz Saenredam, who emphasized accuracy, De Witte was especially concerned with atmosphere. He painted sometimes fictional interiors and combined aspects of different churches. De Witte painted the old church in Amsterdam from almost every corner.
His works excel in composition and use of light, while the interiors are usually inhabited by churchgoers, sometimes accompanied by a dog. The created atmosphere thereby appears the real theme of each painting.
Emanuel de Witte moved to Amsterdam in 1652, where his wife died in 1655. He remarried with a 23 year old orphan, with a bad influence on his daughter. Both were condemned for stealing from the neigbors over the roof. His pregnant wife was forced to leave the city, the child got into custody.
Emanuel de Witte committed suicide in 1691, after being forced to pay the rent. He jumped from a bridge, but the cord broke and he drowned. The corpse was found only after eleven weeks, because of the freezing of the canal.
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