Because depictions of saints and martyrdoms were forbidden by the Calvinist Church, Salomon de Bray must have painted this altarpiece for a hidden Catholic church. The figure of Saint Lawrence is closely related to a drawing by the Flemish painter Jacob Jordaens, with whom De Bray was working on a major commission in The Hague in 1652. The altarpiece’s original arched top, with angels bearing the palms of martyrdom, was removed in the nineteenth century, probably to accommodate a new setting.
