watermark: none visible through lining

...; collection Nathaniel Hone (1718-84), London (L. 2793); ? his sale, London (Hutchins), 7 February 1785 sqq; …; collection Charles Rogers (1711-84), London (L. 624); his sale, London (T. Philipe), 15 April 1799 sqq., one of two in no. 586 (‘Two boys heads, size of life –oiled black chalk- dated, 1626’);¹¹Copy RKD. collection Freiherr Adalbert von Lanna, (1836-1909), Prague (L. 2773); his sale, Berlin (Lepke), 22 May 1911, no. 135;²²Hofstede de Groot notes, RKD, no. 0000898953. …; collection Franz I, Prince of Liechtenstein (1853-1938); by descent to Franz Josef II, Prince of Liechtenstein (1906-89), Vaduz; from whom, fl. 1200, through the mediation of the dealer Walter Feilchenfeldt (Zürich), to the museum (L. 2228), 1948 

Object number: RP-T-1948-411

Of the approximately five hundred known drawings by Cornelis Saftleven, close to two hundred are studies of human figures. The Rijksmuseum collection holds sixteen of these sheets, made between 1634 and 1665, which give a fairly complete picture of Saftleven's figural draughtsmanship. The models are recorded in varying poses and drawn on different types of support, sometimes toned, sometimes coloured. The drawings range from very swift sketches to more detailed studies.

All the drawings are made with black chalk; those on coloured paper are heightened with opaque white watercolour or white chalk. The Seated Boy with a Hat (inv. no. RP-T-1989-105) is the only one finished with grey wash. The earliest dated study in the Rijksmuseum, the Seated Woman, Facing Left of 1634 (inv. no. RP-T-1989-100) and a later sheet dated 1665, Seated Boy with a Flute (inv. no. RP-T-1902-A-4570), are among the most monumental of the Rijksmuseum figure studies.

The goal of Saftleven's prolific output is unclear: in only a few cases can the figures be linked to his painted oeuvre. He may have sold his studies to other artists, and he certainly also drew figures for his talented landscapist brother Herman (1609-1685), who used them in his paintings. The Rijksmuseum’s collection includes two versions of a Seated Man with a Pipe (inv. nos. RP-T-1989-104 and RP-T-2019-423). Cornelis sent the latter sheet to his brother via post, probably so he could incorporate the figure in one of his compositions.³³A. Zwollo, ‘Een ‘Cornelis Saftleven’ per brief’, Nederlands Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek (NKJ) / Netherlands Yearbook for History of Art 38 (1987), pp. 402-06.

Carolyn Mensing, 2020

This powerful portrait of a boy is one of Saftleven's earliest dated works. The drawing is unusual owing to the use charcoal soaked in linseed oil, a medium the artist used only occasionally; according to Schulz, it was employed only in drawings dated between 1625 and 1630.¹¹¹¹W. Schulz, Cornelis Saftleven (1607-1685): Leben und Werke, mit einem kritischen Katalog der Gemälde und Zeichnungen, Berlin 1978, p. 41. Moreover, the artist more often made full-length figure studies on a smaller scale than half-length portraits. The drawing relates to a sheet in the Kupferstichkabinett, Berlin, that depicts the same model, Laughing Boy (KdZ 12092), which is also dated 1626.¹²¹²E. Bock and J. Rosenberg, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin: Die niederländischen Meister: Beschreibendes Verzeichnis sämtlicher Zeichnungen, 2 vols., coll. cat. Berlin 1930, I, p. 262, II, fig. 191; W. Schulz, Cornelis Saftleven (1607-1685): Leben und Werke, mit einem kritischen Katalog der Gemälde und Zeichnungen, Berlin 1978, p. 116, no. 209. Both sheets were once in the collection of Charles Rogers (1711-1784). In the sales catalogue of Freiherr Adalbert Von Lanna (1836-1909), the boy is described as breaking a cookie in half, but he is clearly holding some cloth between his fingers.¹³¹³Sale, Freiherr Adalbert von Lanna, (1836-1909, Prague), Berlin (Lepke), 22 May 1911, no. 135 (‘(…) Brustbild eines Knaben, der mit beiden Händen ein Stück Kuchen zerbricht(…)’). Perhaps the Rijksmuseum and Berlin drawings were part of a series of the Five Senses. In this case, this boy hunting for fleas would represent the sense of Touch.

Gerdien Wuestman, 2001

Jaarverslag Rijkmuseum (1949), p. 36; Tentoonstelling van aanwinsten uit de verzameling van de Vorst van Liechtenstein, exh. cat. Amsterdam (Rijksprentenkabinet) 1953, no. 78; I.Q. van Regteren Altena, Dutch Drawings: Masterpieces of Five Centuries, exh. cat. Washington (DC) (National Gallery of Art)/New York (Pierpont Morgan Library)/Minneapolis (Institute of Art)/Boston (Museum of Fine Arts)/Cleveland (Cleveland Museum of Art) 1958-59, no. 55; K.G. Boon, with F. Lugt, Hollandse tekeningen uit de Gouden Eeuw. Keuze uit openbare en partikuliere Nederlandse verzamelingen, exh. cat. Brussels (Koninklijke Bibliotheek Albert I) 1961, no. 75; F.W. Robinson, Selections from the Collection of Dutch Drawings of Maida and George Abrams, exh. cat. Hanover (NH) (Hopkins Center Art Galleries)/Wellesley (MA) (Jewett Arts Center)/Providence (RI) (RISD Museum)/Storrs (CT) (William Benton Museum of Art) 1969, under no. 15; W. Schulz, Cornelis Saftleven (1607-1685): Leben und Werke, mit einem kritischen Katalog der Gemälde und Zeichnungen, Berlin 1978, pp. 41, 46-47 and 115 (no. 208); P. Schatborn, Dutch Figure Drawings from the Seventeenth Century, exh. cat. Amsterdam (Rijksprentenkabinet)/Washington (DC) (National Gallery of Art) 1981-82, pp. 78, 142, no. 88; E. de Jongh and G. Luijten, Mirror of Everyday Life: Genreprints in the Netherlands 1550-1700, exh. cat. Amsterdam (Rijksprentenkabinet) 1997, p. 230, fig. 2

G. Wuestman, 2001, 'Cornelis Saftleven, _, 1626', in J. Turner (ed.), _(under construction) Drawings 2, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: https://data.rijksmuseum.nl/200144301