Cornelis Saftleven

Cornelis Saftleven was a Dutch painter of the Golden Age with an unusually wide range of subjects. Born in 1607, he painted peasant scenes, barn interiors, portraits, and animals, as well as strange, imaginative pictures of demons, hell scenes, and satirical images in which animals stand in for people. This mix of the everyday and the fantastical set him apart.

He worked mainly in Rotterdam and was skilled at capturing rustic life and the textures of the farmyard. His inventive, sometimes weird scenes reveal a lively imagination. Saftleven is remembered as a versatile Dutch master whose work ranges from down-to-earth country life to vivid flights of fancy.