Cornelis Saftleven (Gorinchem 1607-1681 Rotterdam)
Property from the Estate of the late Miss Barbara Judd (lots 470-474)
Cornelis Saftleven (Gorinchem 1607-1681 Rotterdam)

A hoard of creatures with the Seven Deadly Sins, before a tavern

Details
Cornelis Saftleven (Gorinchem 1607-1681 Rotterdam)
A hoard of creatures with the Seven Deadly Sins, before a tavern
indistinctly inscribed and dated '...de dian / Anno 1653' (centre, on the flag)
oil on panel
13½ x 16¾ in. (34.5 x 42.6 cm.)
Provenance
Lionel Tollemache, 8th Earl of Dysart (1794-1878), Ham House, Surrey, by 1844, and by descent to,
William John Manners Tollemache, 9th Earl of Dysart, DL (1895-1935), by whom bequeathed with the house in 1935 to his second cousin,
Sir Lyonel Tollemache, 4th Bt. (1854-1952), and by descent to his granddaughter Barbara Judd (1926-2013).
Literature
W.C. Joel, A Catalogue and Valuation of the Furniture, Plate, Books, Pictures and Engravings at Ham House, Petersham, Surrey, Richmond, 1911, p. 133, listed as D. Teniers.
C. Rowell ed. Ham House, 400 Years of Collecting and Patronage, New Haven, 2013, Appendix 5: 'The 1844 Inventory', p. 497, listed as Teniers.

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Lot Essay

We are grateful to Fred Meijer, of the RKD, The Hague, for confirming the attribution on the basis of photographs.

The subject of this compelling panel falls within the broad term spookerijen (“ghosts” or “spookery”), which in the Netherlands includes a wide range of images, such as Temptations of Saint Anthony, Witchcrafts and Hells. This tradition draws on work by artists such as Hieronymus Bosch and Pieter Brueghel the Elder. Cornelis Saftleven played a key-role in creating a new canon, which replaced the older models and had a strong impact on Dutch artists such as David Teniers the younger. The enlightened artist of the Dutch Golden Age did not believe in witchcraft or demons, but used the subjects as pretexts to exercise their visionary fantasy and stimulate the imagination of the audience.

This infernal view is set before the Evil Inn (in Dutch “quade harberge”, Bax 1956 pp. 91-92). The Evil Inn is a Brothel or shady tavern in which secular music, gambling, alcohol and prostitution lead to the sins of lust, anger, vanity, greed, alcoholism and addiction to gambling. The Seven Deadly Sins are depicted inside and before the Evil Inn, they can be identified through Hieronymus Bosch’s Seven Deadly Sins and the Four last Things (Museo del Prado, Madrid), in which the deadly sins and their attributions are individually depicted and identified in Latin.

Following the concept that one sin leads to another, the deadly sins are often depicted together or in sequence. Starting inside the Evil Inn, men and women are eating and drinking referring to the sin of gluttony (gola), similarly depicted in Bosch’s tondo. On the stairs of the inn, a devil is leaving with two heavy bags, probably full of money. In the scene of envy (invidia) depicted by Bosch, a figure is similarly bent by the weight of his heavy burden. A couple of steps beneath him stands a woman who can be identified as a procuress by her horned hat, personifying lust (luxuria). The donkey-like lady in the foreground wears lavish clothes and a ridiculous overly decorated hat. Her extravagant outfit and alluring pose- with her hands to her hips- refer to pride (superbia). The black, beaked monster nearby is brandishing a spear to the sky: this is the typical symbol for wrath (ira), also depicted in Bosch’s Four Deadly Sins. To the lower left, a group of three monsters have dropped to their knees to gather coins from the floor. They probably embody the sin of avarice (avaritia). The hunchbacked beggars in the middle-ground might refer to sloth (accidia) or, according to the scene from The Seven Deadly Sins where a beggar appears, to greed (avaritia).

The scene is embedded with further allusions to the devil, which denotes the roots of these sins: connected to it are animals such as the goat, the pig, the donkey and the owl. The musical company over the bridge includes monsters playing the lute, the tambouring and a creature with the nose in the shape of a buisire (a herald’s trumpet). All three are secular music instruments which were traditionally associated with sensual pleasure, in contrast with instruments used for edifying sacred music. The bridge divides the scene into areas behind it and ahead of it. In the distance, an army of men is marching against demons, symbolizing the fight of the soul against evil/sin.

To intensify the moralizing theme of the panel, an old woman sits at the entrance of the inn, quietly but steadily spinning her wheel amongst this foolish party. She is probably Clotho, one of the three fates, who spins the thread of life. As a sort of memento mori she looks out at the viewer admonishing to make the right choices in life.

The present lot is filled with further allusions to the devil, who denotes the roots of all sins: references to him are animals such as the goat, the pig, the donkey and the owl. The musical company on the bridge includes monsters playing the lute, the tambourine and a creature with a nose in the shape of a buisire (a herald’s trumpet). All three are secular musical instruments, which were traditionally associated with sensual pleasure, in contrast to instruments used for edifying sacred music. The bridge marks a clear division between good and evil. In the distance, an army of men is marching against demons, symbolizing the fight of the soul against evil/sin.

To intensify the moralizing theme of the panel, an old woman sits at the entrance of the inn, quietly, but steadily spinning her wheel amongst this foolish party. She is probably Clotho, one of the three fates, who spins the thread of life. As a kind of memento mori she looks directly at the viewer admonishing to make the right choices in life.

The painting is visible in a photograph of the 'Miniature Room' (now the 'Green Closet') in Ham House, Surrey, fig. 1.

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