Old Master Drawings

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Lot 157
  • 157

Herman Saftleven

Estimate
10,000 - 15,000 USD
bidding is closed

Description

  • Herman Saftleven
  • studies of two figures in tyrolean dress: a man with a hat and stick, and a peasant woman resting her elbow on a basket

  • Both black chalk and brown wash, within black ink framing lines;
    both signed with monogram in brown ink, lower right: HSL

Provenance

Vincent van Gogh, Amsterdam, his sale, Amsterdam, de Vries, 2 December 1913, lot 705;
C.P. van Eeghen, Amsterdam

Exhibited

Amsterdam, Museum Fodor, Teekeningan van Oude Meesters...de Verzameling van Mr. Chr.P. van Eeghen, 1935, nos. 83 (the man) and 84 (the woman)

Literature

W. Schulz, Herman Saftleven 1609-1685, Berlin/New York 1982, nos. 1380 (the woman) and 1381 (the man)

Condition

Both window mounted. Both with some light foxing and staining (the man with more than the woman). Otherwise good.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

These two drawings relate to a number of similar figure studies in which, as Joaneath Spicer has demonstrated, Saftleven copied figures from Roelant Savery's naer het leven series, a group of drawings formerly attributed to Pieter Breugel the Elder.1  Often, Saftleven's drawings of this type include several separate figures on a single sheet, as is the case in the prototypes.  Although no Savery drawings are known that correspond directly with these two, the figure of the man does appear in a composite sheet of figure studies, sold in 1977 as School of Jan Breughel the Elder2, and possibly itself based on the same prototype as this study by Saftleven.

1. Joaneath Spicer, 'The 'Naer Het Leven' Drawings: by Pieter Bruegel or Roelanddt Savery,' Master Drawings, vol. VIII, no.1, 1970, p.12
2. Sale of the C.R. Rudolf Collection, Amsterdam, Sotheby Mak van Waay, 6 June 1977, lot 57