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Lot Essay
Dr. Wolfgang Schulz, who has seen the original, has kindly confirmed the attribution and will include the present lot in his forthcoming publication Cornelis Saftleven. Leben und Werke as no. 220-B.
Watercolours like these are extremely rare, and Schulz confirms that the colouring of this drawing is by the artist, and not a later addition, while the white heightening may have been de-oxidized.
The brothers Cornelis and Herman Saftleven are known to have worked together in several cases, mostly on pictures: Herman concentrating on the landscapes and Cornelis adding the figures. Schulz however points out that the figures in the present lot are close in style to that of Herman, comparing them to the figures in similar technique dated to 1663 (W. Schulz, Herman Saftleven 1609-1685, Berlin New York, 1982, pp. 160-3, nos. 1315-27).
Possibly inspired by Abraham Bloemaert, Cornelis painted dovecotes several times; the one in a picture dated 1642 in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, W. Schulz, Cornelis Saftleven, 1607-1681, Berlin New York, 1978, no. 648, fig. 30, is most closely comparable to the present watercolour. A dovecote also appears in a picture offered in these Rooms, 8 November 1999, lot 101.
Watercolours like these are extremely rare, and Schulz confirms that the colouring of this drawing is by the artist, and not a later addition, while the white heightening may have been de-oxidized.
The brothers Cornelis and Herman Saftleven are known to have worked together in several cases, mostly on pictures: Herman concentrating on the landscapes and Cornelis adding the figures. Schulz however points out that the figures in the present lot are close in style to that of Herman, comparing them to the figures in similar technique dated to 1663 (W. Schulz, Herman Saftleven 1609-1685, Berlin New York, 1982, pp. 160-3, nos. 1315-27).
Possibly inspired by Abraham Bloemaert, Cornelis painted dovecotes several times; the one in a picture dated 1642 in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, W. Schulz, Cornelis Saftleven, 1607-1681, Berlin New York, 1978, no. 648, fig. 30, is most closely comparable to the present watercolour. A dovecote also appears in a picture offered in these Rooms, 8 November 1999, lot 101.