BERCKHEYDE, Gerrit Adriaensz.
(b. 1638, Haarlem, d. 1698, Haarlem)

Groote Market in Haarlem

1673
Oil on panel, 42 x 61 cm
The Hermitage, St. Petersburg

The fifteenth-century Church of St Bavo, which became Dutch Reformed after the Wars of Religion, stands at the corner of Haarlem's neat, lively, cobblestone square. This was the site of the great market - the permanent fish stalls wrap around the corner of the Gothic structure. Berckheyde specialized in city scenes which were popular with civic-minded Dutch patrons.