Lot Details
Description
Property from the SØR Rusche Collection
HERMAN SAFTLEVEN
Rotterdam 1609 - 1685 Utrecht
A BARN INTERIOR WITH LIGHT STREAMING THROUGH A WINDOW
signed with monogram on the jamb lower left: HSL
oil on oak panel
framed: 50 x 46.5 cm.; 19⅝ x 18¼ in.
unframed: 35.6 x 31.7 cm.; 14 x 12½ in.
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Condition Report
The panel is uncradled, flat and stable. The paint surface is clean with a clear and even varnish. The surface is well preserved and much of the impasto remains intact. Inspection under ultraviolet light confirms the almost entirely original condition of the picture - there is no visible intervention. In excellent condition.
The lot is sold in the condition it is in at the time of sale. The condition report is provided to assist you with assessing the condition of the lot and is for guidance only. Any reference to condition in the condition report for the lot does not amount to a full description of condition. The images of the lot form part of the condition report for the lot provided by Sotheby's. Certain images of the lot provided online may not accurately reflect the actual condition of the lot. In particular, the online images may represent colours and shades which are different to the lot's actual colour and shades. The condition report for the lot may make reference to particular imperfections of the lot but you should note that the lot may have other faults not expressly referred to in the condition report for the lot or shown in the online images of the lot. The condition report may not refer to all faults, restoration, alteration or adaptation because Sotheby's is not a professional conservator or restorer but rather the condition report is a statement of opinion genuinely held by Sotheby's. For that reason, Sotheby's condition report is not an alternative to taking your own professional advice regarding the condition of the lot.
Cataloguing
Provenance
Baron Adam Christopher Holsten Carisius, Holstenshuus (1793–1879), circa 1850 (as Willem Kalf);
Elise Sehestedt Juul (1867–1971), Ravnholt;
Mogens Juul Esq., Puerto de la Cruiz;
Eugène Tondu, no. 373 (according to a label on the reverse);
Anonymous sale, Copenhagen, Rasmussen, 23 November 1984, lot 31 (as Willem Kalf);
Mr. and Mrs. William D. Graue;
By whom sold, New York, Christie's, 28 January 2009, lot 303;
With Johnny van Haeften, London, (when exhibited at TEFAF, 2009),[1] from whom acquired.
Exhibited
The SØR Rusche Collection has been exhibited extensively over the last two decades. Please click here for further information.
Literature
P. Gammelbo, Dutch still-life painting from the 16th to the 18th centuries in Danish collections, Leigh-on-Sea 1960, p. 22, cat. no. 15, reproduced;
W. Schulz, Herman Saftleven. 1609–1685, Berlin and New York 1982, p. 123, cat. no. 11.
Catalogue Note
During his lifetime, Herman Saftleven was one of Holland's best-known artists. His father and his elder brother Cornelis probably trained him in his home town of Rotterdam before Saftlevens move to Utrecht around 1632. In the following year, he collaborated with Cornelis on paintings of rustic barn interiors. This subject later became his specialty, as exemplified by the present painting, where a quiet interior bathed in golden afternoon light is transformed into a poetic moment of tranquility.
1 For an article about TEFAF, Maastricht 2009, in which the present painting is mentioned, please visit: https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/21/arts/21iht-melik21.html