Herman Saftleven

Louis Durr (1821-1880), New York;
By whose estate given to the New-York Historical Society in 1882 (1882.77);
Their sale, New York, Sotheby's, January 12, 1995, lot 3, for $28,000, to Galerie Nissl, Vienna;
With Galerie Nissl, Vienna, from whom purchased by the present collector.

Catalogue of the Museum and Gallery of The New-York Historical Society, New York 1915, p. 110, under cat. no. D-77 (as "The Rhinefall at Schaffhouse", artist unknown, signed A.K.).

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com , an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. The condition of this painting is extremely good. The panel is made from a single piece of oak which is unreinforced on the reverse. The panel is flat and the paint layer is stable. The only retouches are visible under ultraviolet light in a few spots in the sky, applied to diminish some predictable graininess which has developed over time. There are no retouches of any note in the foreground. The picture should be hung as is.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

The present painting is one of the earliest, securely signed and dated landscape paintings by Herman Saftleven. Saftleven spent most of his life in Utrecht; however he made notable trips up the Rhine to Bingen through the Rheingau. His early career saw the output of a variety of styles, which ranged from landscape paintings to intimate interior scenes. Many of these compositions were completed in collaboration with his brother Cornelis. This work, showing ruins perched atop a hill with a hilly landscape in the distance, relate to his Rhenish capriccios. Typically painted on panel, these often fictional and fantastical architectural landscapes became a hallmark of Saftleven's later career. The golden light which bathes both the landscape and the ruins themselves was a pictorial device that Saftleven often used in his compositions.