A Camel

Description

Although foreign to Europe, camels and other non-native animals were sometimes displayed as curiosities on the continent. Cornelis Saftleven recorded one such rare encounter, capturing the animal’s fur by using a combination of black, brown, and ocher chalk, in some areas (the head and haunches) wetting the media to create denser passages in contrast to the dryer, more disperse use of chalk elsewhere. The addition of ink wash added further shading to suggest the volumes of the camel’s body.

Provenance

John Malcolm; by descent to Alfred Gathorne-Hardy; by descent to Geoffrey Gathorne-Hardy; by descent to Robert Gathorne-Hardy; sold, Sotheby-Mak van Waay, Amsterdam, May 3, 1976, lot 6.  British Rail Pension Fund; sold by Lexbourne Ltd., London, to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1989.

A Camel

Cornelis Saftleven

1646

Accession Number

74217

Medium

Black chalk and brush and black wash, with touches of brown and ochre chalk, on ivory laid paper

Dimensions

20.4 × 31.3 cm (8 1/16 × 12 3/8 in.)

Classification

ink or chalk wash

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Clarence Buckingham Collection