A Camel
1646
Meet a shaggy Bactrian camel, sketched by Dutch artist Cornelis Saftleven in 1646. With its two distinctive humps and heavy, fur-covered legs, this creature looks built for the desert, yet here it stands in a sketchy, open landscape—likely a traveling menagerie in the Netherlands! In the 17th century, exotic animals were rare spectacles, often brought back by the Dutch East India Company as living curiosities. Saftleven used quick, energetic strokes to capture the animal's texture and weary expression, creating a lively study that feels incredibly modern. The faint inscription at the top locks in the date, preserving a moment when the wider world came to visit Europe.
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