魯蘭策‧薩費里

Freiherr von Pelser-Berenberg, Aachen;
With P. de Boer, Amsterdam, 1936;
Piet de Boer, Hergiswil;
From whom acquired by De Koster, Wassenaer, in April 1963;
With Brod Gallery, London;
From whom acquired by the present owner in 1987.

K.J. Müllenmeister, Roelant Savery, Die Gemälde mit Kritischem Oeuvrekatalog, Freren 1988, pp. 80, 89, 91, 224, cat. no. 66, reproduced (with the assistance from his nephew Hans Savery II).

The following condition report has been provided by Karen Thomas of Thomas Art Conservation LLC., 336 West 37th Street, Suite 830, New York, NY 10018, 212-564-4024, info@thomasartconservation.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. A painting in excellent condition overall. This type of picture is easily over cleaned, but here even the most delicately applied paints, from the loose brushwork in the brown passages to the carefully conceived details of the fauna and travelers, remain beautifully preserved. In a few areas, strokes of the darkest browns have been gently reinforced in the rocks to deal with normal, age-related increased transparency of the paint. In the sky, increased transparency, which allows the wood grain to become visible over time, has been addressed with careful restoration scumbles. Some fine drying cracks in the sky have also been retouched. The panel is made up of two horizontally grained boards with the join just above the middle of the panel. Narrow strips of wood have been attached to the perimeter for framing purposes. The panel is planar and shows no evidence of movement.
"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 impressive and unusually large mountain landscape dates from 1632 when Savery was living and working in Utrecht.  Stylistically it is strongly evocative of some of the compositions he created during his decade-long sojourn in Prague, from circa 1603-1613, where he worked at the court of Emperor Rudolf II.  During his years there, Savery made many drawings from nature in the surrounding Bohemian countryside and, in circa 1606-1607, was sent on an expedition by the Emperor to the Tyrol so that he could record the “curious marvels of nature.”¹  He made numerous drawings of mountains, fantastic rock formations, waterfalls and a variety of flora and fauna.  These drawings provided reference material and inspiration for his subsequent paintings and Savery brought many of them back with him when he returned to the Netherlands.  Here Savery has incorporated many of these motifs including the rocks, the cascading water and various animals such as deer, a heron and mountain goats.  Into this awe-inspiring landscape he has introduced a human element in the form of travelers with horse carts along a path that cuts through the rocks at right.

In his monograph on the artist, Kurt J. Müllenmeister (see Literature) compares this painting to another large horizontal landscape by Savery dated 1612, formerly in the van Lynden collection, Dalfsen.²  A work from the artist’s maturity, he considers the present landscape to be one of his last great works in Utrecht, reminiscent of his stay in Bohemia.

1.  J. von Sandart, Teutsche Academie der Bau-Bild-und Mahlerey-Künste, Nürnbert 1675-1680, p. 305.
2.  See K.J. Müllenmeister, under Literature, p. 223, cat. no. 65, reproduced.