Roelandt Savery

Gräflich Harrach'sche Gemäldegalerie, Vienna, Rohrauer Fideikommis, inv.no. 156.

K. Erasmus, Roelant Savery, dissertation, Halle 1908, p. 122, cat. no. 145;
H. Ritschl, Katalog der Erlaucht Gräflich Harrachschen Gemälde-Galerie in Wien, Vienna 1926, p. 43, cat. no. 391;
K.J. Müllenmeister, Roelant Savery, Die Gemälde mit Kritischem Oeuvrekatalog, Freren 1988, p. 258, cat.no.131, reproduced plate 22 (as circa 1620, perhaps with the assistance of Hans Savery II).

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. This work on oak panel is made from three sections of wood. One join runs across the upper third and the other runs through the rump of the deer. The panel is flat and the paint layer is stable. The work is probably clean. The restoration to the higher of the two panel joins is slightly weak. There are only a few retouches visible under ultraviolet light in the cliffs in the upper right and in the bottom of the waterfall in the lower center. The condition is otherwise marvelous.
"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."

This painting is a late work by Savery, dated by Kurt J. Müllenmeister to circa 1620 (see Literature).  By that date, Savery had returned to the Netherlands from Prague, where he had been in the service of Emperor Rudolph II from around 1603-1613.  While there, the artist made numerous detailed studies of animals and birds in the menageries and hunting grounds of Rudolph and continued to use these as reference for later paintings.  Rudolph had sent Savery on an expedition to the Tyrol in circa 1606-07 where he made drawings of mountains and waterfalls that also served as inspiration in his landscapes.

In Utrecht, where he settled after 1619, Savery found a steady demand for his landscapes among a large and prosperous class of buyers who were fascinated by his fantastical scenes and wild animals.  This painting, depicting a lion chasing two deer through a dramatic mountainous ravine with a cascade in the background, would have been highly exotic compared to the more realistic landscapes being produced by Savery’s Dutch contemporaries.