Twee gevleugelde fabeldieren 1617 - 1681

Cornelis Saftleven created this drawing of two winged mythical creatures. Saftleven lived and worked in the Netherlands during the Dutch Golden Age, a period marked by tremendous economic growth and cultural flourishing. Yet, this prosperity existed alongside stark social hierarchies, and the religious and political turmoil following the Eighty Years’ War. Saftleven's mythical creatures seem to capture something of this tumultuous context. The winged figures, rendered in delicate lines, evoke both wonder and unease. The top figure appears bestial, whilst the bottom creature has humanoid features, like a grotesque parody of the human form. Are we looking at a celebration of imagination or a commentary on the darker aspects of human nature? The artist invites us to consider the boundaries between the real and the imagined, the beautiful and the grotesque, reflecting perhaps the complex tapestry of Dutch society at the time. These images capture the enduring human fascination with the uncanny.