The Imaginary Church

I was wandering around an exhibition of Dutch Masters.

Comment John Benton

The National Trust put some of their excellent collection of these paintings, mainly from the 17th century, on show at Petworth House, West Sussex. Among the items on display one particularly caught my eye. It was titled An Imaginary Church or Cathedral Interior by Hendrick van Steenwijk & Cornelius van Poelenburgh (see right). The title intrigued me. ‘What would the best church you could imagine look like?’, I thought.