Animal Allegory

Cornelis Saftleven

Cornelis Saftleven - Animal Allegory
This composition is a complex allegory of human manners. The animals dress like people, behave like people and are similarly ridiculous. The tomcat, the bird and the dog are playing tricktrac with a man, whose back bars a notice informing us of the painter´s literary model. It was a 16th century chivalric romance about Amadis of Wales.
date:
measurements: height 49 cm
width 70 cm
material: oak panel
technique: oil
inscription:
inventory number: O 7834
gallery collection: Collection of Old Masters