Herman Saftleven

The painting is fresher in colour and brighter and lighter in tone than the catalogue illustration would suggest. The single panel has bowed slightly and there are two resulting horizontal splits along the grain of the wood which have been repaired with butterfly supports on the reverse. The paint surface is in good overall condition and the splits have been sensitively restored. The first one runs through the upper band of the panel bisecting the foremost supporting column. The second runs through the lower band of the panel, running through the upturned tub lower left. Both of these can be seen in the catalogue illustration. There is also a minor paint loss to the lower right hand edge caused by frame abrasion and there are some very minor scattered scuffs visible only on close inspection. Examination under ultraviolet reveals a thick discoloured varnish under which can be seen several minor campaigns of scattered old retouching, however this is cosmetic, bar more recent retouching to the aforementioned panel splits. Offered in a dark wood Dutch style frame in very good condition.
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This composition is known through several copies that were presumed to be after a missing original by Cornelis Saftleven. One such copy on canvas, of near identical dimensions, was sold Amsterdam, Sotheby’s, 8 May 2001, lot 139, as circle of Cornelis Saftleven. Although the boys and other motifs such as the cat can be associated with Cornelis, the forceful handling, particularly of the still life, is closely related to that of his brother Herman, particularly his farm interiors with still life motifs from circa 1634–37, but it cannot be excluded that this is a collaborative work by both Saftleven brothers, who worked together on several paintings at around this date, and whose style had yet to diverge. The panel maker’s mark on the reverse is indistinct but may be that of Guilliam Aertssens (fl. 1618–26). Antwerp panels were freely traded outside of the city, so the presence of the marking on this picture does not preclude the fact that it could have been executed in Rotterdam. Artistic links between Rotterdam and Antwerp were strong at this date. The Saftlevens' contemporary Hendrick Martensz. Sorgh, whose work at this date is also close to the style of the present painting, visited Antwerp in the 1630s, and it cannot be excluded that one or both Saftlevens made a similar journey south, where they, like Sorgh would have encountered David Teniers the Younger.

We are grateful to Dr Fred G. Meijer for proposing the attribution on the basis of photographs.