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A Witches' Sabbath

A work made of oil on panel.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of oil on panel.

Date:

c. 1650

Artist:

Cornelis Saftleven
Dutch, 1607-1681

About this artwork

A witch riding a goat and brandishing a broomstick charges out from the left edge of this scene to chase away dozens of devils. Such ghoulish subjects had long been appreciated in Northern Europe for the way they combined a sense of wild, supernatural threat with scientific observation of the natural world—seen here in the detailed moth wings of the howling figure on the right and the deft rendering of the frog’s splayed body. Cornelis Saftleven responded to Dutch buyers’ evolving taste by treating his fantastic subjects with fine brushstrokes and a limited color palette.

Status

On View, Gallery 213

Department

Painting and Sculpture of Europe

Artist

Cornelis Saftleven

Title

A Witches' Sabbath

Place

Holland (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1640–1660

Medium

Oil on panel

Dimensions

54.3 × 78.2 cm (21 3/8 × 30 3/4 in.)

Credit Line

George F. Porter Collection

Reference Number

1945.290

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/53495/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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