A Camel
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
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
74217
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
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.
About the Artist
Cornelis Saftleven · 1607–1681
Cornelis Saftleven (c. 1607–1681) was born in Gorinchem into a family of artists, with his father Herman Saftleven and brothers Abraham and Herman Saftleven the Younger also painters. He likely learned his craft from his father in Rotterdam, where the family was active, and later collaborated closely with his brother Herman in Utrecht around 1634, developing innovative stable interiors as a new mo...