Art Institute of Chicago
A Witches' Sabbath
Cornelis Saftleven (Dutch, 1607–1681)
- Date
- c. 1650
- Medium
- Oil on panel
- Culture
- Holland
- Department
- Painting and Sculpture of Europe
- Institution
- Art Institute of Chicago
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.
The authoritative record is held by Art Institute of Chicago. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.
Linked open data
Authority identifiers that link this record into the wider web of cultural data — stable references you can follow to the source.
- Object type
- AAT300033618
Related across collections
Semantically similar works from Art Institute of Chicago and other institutions.
An Enchanted Cellar with Animals
Getty Museum
The Witch (Night Piece)
Cleveland Museum of Art
A Lion Snarling
Getty Museum
Horse Standing on a Mound
Cleveland Museum of Art
Scenes of Witchcraft: Day
Cleveland Museum of Art
Faust and Mephistopheles Galloping Through the Night of the Witches' Sabbath
Art Institute of Chicago
Faust and Mephistopheles Galloping Through the Night of the Witches' Sabbath, from Faust
Art Institute of Chicago
Scenes of Witchcraft: Evening
Cleveland Museum of Art
Witches Preparing for Sabbath
Art Institute of Chicago
Die Hexe - Witch Riding on a Goat
Minneapolis Institute of Art
A Camel
Art Institute of Chicago
A Scene in a Forge
Getty Museum