The father of Emanuel de Witte was a school teacher in the Dutch city of Alkmaar. He gave his son lessons and would have liked to see him following in his footsteps. But the young de Witte wanted to become a painter by all means and therefore joined the Guild of Saint Luke in Alkmaar at the age of 19. The guild existed in almost all Dutch cities. The local painters, sculptors and craftsmen were members. Only in this way were they allowed to train apprentices, employ journeymen and offer and sell their art objects to the public. Some years later the painter moved to Delft, where he studied with Evert van Aelst, a very famous Dutch still life painter. He then lived in Rotterdam and Amsterdam, where he married Geerje Arents in 1651 and became father of a daughter. Only 4 years later his wife died and de Witte remarried. His second wife, Lysbeth van der Plas, was caught a short time later in a theft and was expelled from the city as punishment. She then lived dishonourably outside the city walls, where she died four years later. The incident did great harm to de Witte's social standing and led to him being largely impoverished by court cases.
However, his artistic abilities were not diminished and he continued to paint unwaveringly. Apart from portraits, Emanuel de Witte occupied himself a lot with mythological, historical and religious themes. In the second half of his life he also worked very often in churches. His paintings of the interiors of various places of worship are among his most famous works, such as the painting " The Interior of the Portuguese Synagogue of Amsterdam". However, he did not always paint according to reality, but according to his sense of beauty. He had the interiors of different churches merged into one picture, painted non-existing churchgoers into it or left them out. Also his very famous painting "Palazzo in an Italian city" is a pure fantasy picture. He painted landscapes, streets and squares only very rarely.
As an artist and in his painting style de Witte impressed very much, as a person he is said to have been rather difficult according to the stories of his contemporaries. So he would have been quite choleric, quarrelsome and a player. But perhaps it was also his private worries caused by the death of two wives, the accusations and court cases and the humiliations associated with them that left their mark on him. At the age of 75, the artist hanged himself from an Amsterdam canal bridge. His body was only found weeks later.
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-558271).jpg "Gravediggers in the west end of the Oude Kerk, Amsterdam by Emanuel de Witte")
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.jpg "The Interior of the Oude Kerk, Amsterdam by Emanuel de Witte")
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.jpg "View of the Choir of the Janskerk in Utrecht by Emanuel de Witte")
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.jpg "The Interior of Oude Kerk, Amsterdam by Emanuel de Witte")
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.jpg "Interior of a Church by Emanuel de Witte")
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.jpg "Interior of the Nieuwe Kerk, Amsterdam, 1657 by Emanuel de Witte")
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.jpg "The Tomb of Michiel de Ruyter in the Nieuwe Kerk, Amsterdam by Emanuel de Witte")
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.jpg "View of the Choir of St John")
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.jpg "Interior of a Protestant, Gothic Church, with a Gravedigger in the Choir by Emanuel de Witte")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-593047).jpg "The Interior of a Gothic Church by Emanuel de Witte")
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.jpg "View of a Church Interior by Emanuel de Witte")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-128169).jpg "Interior of the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft with the Tomb of William the Silent by Emanuel de Witte")
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.jpg "Interior of a Protestant Gothic Church with Motifs from the Oude and Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam by Emanuel de Witte")
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.jpg "Interior of the Oude Kerk, Delft, c. 1680 by Emanuel de Witte")
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.jpg "Interior of a Protestant Gothic Church, Amsterdam by Emanuel de Witte")
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.jpg "Interior of a Protestant, Gothic Church during a Service by Emanuel de Witte")
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.jpg "Interior of the Oude Kerk, Amsterdam, 1659 by Emanuel de Witte")
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.jpg "Church Interior by Emanuel de Witte")
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.jpg "The Birdmarket, Amsterdam by Emanuel de Witte")
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.jpg "St. Anne, the Virgin and Christ Child by Emanuel de Witte")
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.jpg "Interior of the Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam by Emanuel de Witte")
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.jpg "Interior of a Protestant Gothic Church with Motifs from the Oude and Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam by Emanuel de Witte")
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.jpg "Interior of the Oude Kerk, Delft by Emanuel de Witte")
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.jpg "Interior of a Church by Emanuel de Witte")
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.jpg "The Old Church, Delft, with Churchgoers listening to a Sermon by Emanuel de Witte")
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.jpg "Church Interior by Emanuel de Witte")
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.jpg "Market in the Hague by Emanuel de Witte")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1441151).jpg "Interior of a Church by Emanuel de Witte")
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.jpg "The Nieuwe Kerk at Delft with the Tomb of Willem the Silent by Emanuel de Witte")
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.jpg "Interior of the Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam by Emanuel de Witte")
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.jpg "Unknown Image by Emanuel de Witte")
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_in_Amsterdam_-_(MeisterDrucke-1395582).jpg "The Nieuwe Vismarkt (New Fish Market) in Amsterdam by Emanuel de Witte")
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.jpg "Unknown Image by Emanuel de Witte")
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.jpg "Interior of a Church with Figures by Emanuel de Witte")
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.jpg "The Interior of the Oude Kerk, Amsterdam, c. 1660 by Emanuel de Witte")
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.jpg "Interior of a Protestant Church by Emanuel de Witte")
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.jpg "Interior of the Oude Kerk, Delft, probably 1650 by Emanuel de Witte")
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.jpg "Interior of the Nieuwe Kerk, Delft, 1656 by Emanuel de Witte")
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.jpg "Interior View of the New Church in Delft by Emanuel de Witte")
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.jpg "Interior of the Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam by Emanuel de Witte")
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.jpg "Interior of a church by Emanuel de Witte")
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_Vertumnus_and_Pomona_-_(MeisterDrucke-1569762).jpg "Vertumnus and Pomona by Emanuel de Witte")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-899776).jpg "Interior of a Church by Emanuel de Witte")
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.jpg "Interior of a Church by Emanuel de Witte")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1307156).jpg "Cupid (Amor) by Emanuel de Witte")
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.jpg "Interior of the Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam by Emanuel de Witte")
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.jpg "Church Interior by Emanuel de Witte")
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.jpg "Interior of the Old Church at Delft by Emanuel de Witte")
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.jpg "Studies of Figures by Johannes Bosboom")
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.jpg "Interior of the Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam. 1680 by Emanuel de Witte")
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.jpg "The Old Church in Amsterdam During a Service by Emanuel de Witte")
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.jpg "View of the Choir of St John")
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.jpg "Interior of the Oude Kerk, Amsterdam by Emanuel de Witte")
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.jpg "Portrait of a Family in an Interior by Emanuel de Witte")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1505682).jpg "Interior of the Oude Kerk, Delft, c.1680 by Emanuel de Witte")
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.jpg "Interior of a Protestant Gothic Church with Motifs from the Oude and Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam by Emanuel de Witte")
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