"retreat From Battle" Attributed To Christian Reder (leipzig 1656 - Rome 1729)

Beautiful oil on canvas attributable to Christian Reder also known as Monsù Leandro, a painter from Leipzig who crossed Europe to study and paint, arrived in Italy, passing through Venice, and then settled in Rome in 1686. A painter famous for depictions of battles and bambocciate.

A crude scene in the foreground represented by restless horses and men with exhausted faces ready to retreat after the battle.

In the absence of any reference to any particular faction, we can refer this painting to the genre of "battles without heroes", that is, battles without either winners or losers. By avoiding inserting references or allusions to factions or sides, the battle painters tried to sell their works more easily, and subtly expressed an open criticism of the horrors of war.

In the background on the right side a village on a rocky ridge and on the left side in the distance a besieged village, visual references that unmistakably refer to the Lazio countryside.

In the painting we can see with what ease and confidence the painter approached the figurative execution of the characters and horses and studied the composition accurately.
Characteristic of Reder are these faces, a bit childish and inexpressive, which balance the compositional strength of the battle and the lively chromaticism of the backgrounds and the sky.

The work is presented in the first canvas, with a contemporary lacquer and gold frame and in excellent condition.

Canvas size: 75 x 50

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