A barn interior with cattle, pigeons and a dog barking at a peasant

After training as a painter in Rotterdam, Saftleven may have visited Antwerp in 1632-4, becoming familiar with the work of Brouwer and Teniers; however by circa 1634 he was in Utrecht with his brother, Herman Saftleven II. In 1637 Cornelis returned to Rotterdam, where he became dean of the Guild of St. Luke in 1667. The present work dates from the period 1632-7, when Cornelis produced several interiors with peasants (e.g. Prague, National Gallery, Sternberk Palace; Berlin, Bodemuseum) and barn interiors closely comparable to the present work, such as that in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.