Winter Landscape With Utrecht, Herman Saftleven (rotterdam 1609 - Utrecht 1685)

Herman Saftleven the Elder (Rotterdam 1609 - Utrecht 1685) workshop
Winter Landscape with the City of Utrecht

Oil on canvas
81 x 65 cm. - framed 105 x 91 cm.

The painting depicts a charming winter landscape, with a glimpse of a city set on the banks of a frozen river where numerous characters animate the canvas immortalised in their daily lives, heedless of the climatic rigours that surround them, thus showing us a snapshot of popular life in the 17th century.

Precisely this is the city of Utrecht, with the famous Plompetoren, the high watchtower that formed part of the city's defences in the Middle Ages (also known as the robbers‘ tower, since it was also used as a prison), next to which we can see De Vos tower, which no longer exists, while in the background we admire the tip of the Gothic St. James’ church.

It is therefore not only a work of undeniable aesthetic and collector's value, but also an important historical document on the former physiognomy of one of the most important cities in the Netherlands, especially at the time of its great colonial power.

Winter settings such as ours reached their zenith in the Dutch Golden Age, a truly attractive pictorial genre, sought after by art collectors of the time, as well as after almost four centuries, by Flemish painting enthusiasts of today.

Following in the footsteps of Pieter Brueghel the Elder, who introduced this pictorial genre in the third quarter of the 16th century, a large number of authors active between the end of the 16th and the 17th century created from time to time personal variations on the theme of the landscape immersed in the coldest season.

Although based on a real vision, the view appears with an almost dreamlike setting, depicting a sort of fairytale on canvas, invaded by light from the horizon that floods the broad landscape with a very warm, orangey hue, contrasting with the idea of the cold winter.

From an attributive point of view, our canvas can be attributed to the workshop of the Flemish artist Herman Saftleven, creator of river views with castles that made him one of the most famous Dutch artists of the 17th century. It is in fact a typical composition by the painter, executed with quality and skillful detail, and characterised by a pleasant, soft and delicate colour scheme.

A similar painting is today kept in the Gemaeldegalerie Alte Meister, Kassel, Germany, dated 1646 (museum link: https://datenbank.museum-kassel.de/33910/), and our canvas, of similar quality, could probably be a version painted by the author or one of his close followers.


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The painting is sold complete with an attractive gilded frame and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and descriptive iconographic card.

We take care of and organise the transport of the purchased works, both for Italy and abroad, through professional and insured carriers.

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