Interieur van een kathedraal met drieledige opstand c. 1850

This watercolor wash drawing is by Pierre Joseph Hubert Cuypers. It depicts a proposed interior elevation of a gothic cathedral, one of many Cuypers designed, restored, or contributed to in the Netherlands and beyond. As an architect, Cuypers was a leading advocate for neo-Gothic architecture, which dominated church design in the Netherlands during the late 19th century. The neo-Gothic style became closely linked with the revival of Catholicism in the Netherlands, and Cuypers played a key role in this movement. You see this influence through the pointed arches, ribbed vaults, and the emphasis on verticality in the drawing. This style aimed to revive the architectural vocabulary of the Middle Ages. Drawings such as these highlight the politics of imagery, in this case the relationship between religious institutions and the arts. Close examination using primary resources like architectural journals and church records would reveal much about the social conditions that shaped Cuypers' artistic production and the role of the church in Dutch society at the time.