The Temptation of St Anthony

1629 · Private collection

religious

Saftleven painted several versions of this subject, the present picture being the earliest among them. The subject allowed him to indulge to the full his taste for painting the weird and unnatural creatures which populate his early pictures.

About the Artist

Cornelis Saftleven

1607 – 1681

Herman III Saftleven (1609-1685) and Cornelis Saftleven (1607-1681), Dutch painters, brothers. The best-known members of the family of artists is Cornelis, who was influenced by Brouwer and Teniers, painted genre scenes of peasants and satirical pictures of animals dressed and acting like theologians and jurists. He also did landscapes with sheep and cattle grazing. Herman travelled in Germany and is best known for his highly finished panoramic views of the Moselle and Rhine rivers, done in a distinctive misty blue tonality.

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