(Rotterdam 1609–1685 Utrecht)
Two Rhine landscapes,
both monogrammed (lower left on the rock and at centre) and dated 1669
oil on panel, each 46.6 x 62.8 cm, framed, a pair (2)

Provenance:
Thadée van Sacegem (1767–1852) collection, Ghent;
his sale, Galerie Le Roy, Brussels, 2nd and 3rd June 1851;
Jean-Joseph Chapuis (1765–1864) collection, Brussels;
his sale, Galerie Le Roy, Brussels, 4th December 1865, lot 353 and 354;
Private collection, Germany

The majority of Saftleven’s oeuvre consists of river valleys viewed from above (Rhine, Moselle) and enclosed by steep mountain ranges on both sides of the river. His compositions are populated by tiny figures – peasants, travellers, and boatmen on wine boats – executed in a delicate, miniature-like style. It was with these landscapes that Saftleven influenced many other painters, from Jan Griffier I and II to Christian Georg Schütz. It is interesting to observe that, in one painting, one can see the chapel of Saint Petronella in De Bilt near Utrecht on the left-hand side, which was destroyed in the late 17th century. Saftleven repeatedly enriched his Rhine landscapes with monuments from his Utrecht surroundings.

Provenance:
Thadée van Sacegem (1767–1852) collection, Ghent;
his sale, Galerie Le Roy, Brussels, 2nd and 3rd June 1851;
Jean-Joseph Chapuis (1765–1864) collection, Brussels;
his sale, Galerie Le Roy, Brussels, 4 December 1865, lot 353 and 354;
Private collection, Germany

The majority of Saftleven’s oeuvre consists of river valleys viewed from above (Rhine, Moselle) and enclosed by steep mountain ranges on both sides of the river. His compositions are populated by tiny figures – peasants, travellers, and boatmen on wine boats – executed in a delicate, miniature-like style. It was with these landscapes that Saftleven influenced many other painters, from Jan Griffier I and II to Christian Georg Schütz. It is interesting to observe that, in one painting, one can see the chapel of Saint Petronella in De Bilt near Utrecht on the left-hand side, which was destroyed in the late 17th century. Saftleven repeatedly enriched his Rhine landscapes with monuments from his Utrecht surroundings.