PEETER NEEFS the Elder (c. 1578 Antwerp c. 1656/1661) Church interior. Oil on wood. Signed lower right on the pillar: PEETER NEEFS. 24.6 × 34.5 cm. Provenance: Swiss private property. Peeter Neefs the Elder is known for his numerous depictions of church interiors. The church interior offered here shows compositional similarities with other paintings by the artist, both in the architecture (Bernard Maillet: Intérieurs d'églises 1580-1720. La peinture architecturale des Ecoles du Nord. Catalogue raisonné, mis à jour et augmenté, Paris 2017, cat. no. M 0735) as well as for the figures (Maillet 2017, cat. nos. M 0633 and M 0696). The church depicted is probably inspired by the cathedral in Antwerp, where Peeter Neefs spent the majority of his life. His son, Peeter Neefs the Younger (c. 1620-1675), continued his father's painting style with his own depictions of church interiors - such as lot 3055 in this catalogue. We would like to thank Prof Bernard Maillet for confirming the authenticity of this work on the basis of a photograph.