"Catholic Procession" by Gerrit Berckheyde

Gerrit Berckheyde (1638–1698) was a Haarlem painter of the Dutch Golden Age, one of the "Little Dutch Masters" and a master of the townscape. He studied with his elder brother Job and from 1660 was a member of the Guild of St Luke in Haarlem. His manner is restrained, with cool light and a predominance of grey and brown tones. The museum's website names this painting among the few Western European works in its collection; according to the catalogue, it dates from the second half of the 17th century.

Before the viewer is a narrow street lined with stone houses. A procession of four people moves along the left side, the priests carrying torches. On the right, townspeople have stopped at the sight of it: men and women kneel, a woman with a bag stoops in an archway, a mother with a baby wakes a boy who has fallen asleep beside her, and a dog stands in front of them. In the depth is a square with a town hall and two trees; in the left foreground are fragments of a column. The town is painted in a single brown palette under a blue sky. Oil on canvas.