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Saenredam, Pieter Jansz (pē'tur yäns sän'rudäm) [key], 1597–1665, Dutch painter. Born in Assendelft, he spent most of his life in Haarlem. Saenredam was a painter of structures and was sometimes called an architectural portraitist. Specializing in the interiors and exteriors of Dutch gothic churches, he is known for his austere, meticulously executed work. The geometry of buildings serves as the focus of his works, in which tiny figures move through great, spacious halls filled with diffused light (e.g., Interior of St. Janskerk, 1645; Centraal Mus., Utrecht). While his output as a painter was small, Saenredam was also a superb draftsman, and many of his architectural drawings have survived.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.