# Church Interior with the Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [DELEN, Dirck van]() - Date: 1601-1650 - Technique: Oil on panel, 49 x 56 cm ## Commentary Here, a seventeenth-century church provides the setting for a parable from St Luke's Gospel \(Luke 18:9-14\) that contrasts virtuous humility and sinful pride. The Pharisee \(a strict follower of Hebrew law\) stands at the base of a column exalting his righteous way of life, while the publican \(a tax collector\) bows his head and prays for mercy. Dirck van Delen specialized in painting architecture, occasionally collaborating with other artists for the depiction of figures. In this instance, he worked with the Dutch painter Cornelis van Poelenburch, who seamlessly blended the figures into this monumental interior. Such collaborations were a specialty of artists in the seventeenth-century Netherlands. ## Related artworks - [A Family beside the Tomb of Willem I in the Nieuwe Kerk, Delft]() - [An Interior with Ladies and Gentlemen Dining]() - [Architectural Capriccio with Jephthah and His Daughter]() - [Conversation outside a Castle]() - [Distinguished Dinner Company in an Interior \(detail\)]() - [Distinguished Dinner Company in an Interior]() - [Elegant Figures in a Loggia]() - [Figures Strolling under a Palace Loggia]() - [Imaginary Church Interior \(detail\)]() - [Imaginary Church Interior]() - [Interior of an Imaginary Church]() - [Interior Scene]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()