Battle Of Cavalry

Jan Peter van Bredael (Antwerp, 1683 - Vienna, 1735)

Battle of cavalry

Oil on canvas, cm 48 x 63

With frame, cm 61 x 76

Critical papers by Dr. W. Bernt and Dr. R. Colace

Bibliography:

G. Sestieri, 'The painters of battles, Italian and foreign masters of the seventeenth and eighteenth century', Rome 1999, pp.544-545

Trained in the family workshop under the aegis of his father Joris van Breddel, the artist left Antwerp in 1706 to move to Prague and then to work for Prince Eugene of Savoy, a general and statesman close to the Austrian monarchy, in the first decades of the eighteenth century living in Vienna. In 1720, Bredael returned to his homeland where he was registered in the Guild of Saint Luke; but he soon returned to Vienna, where he worked for the rest of his life and died there in 1735. It is clear that the artist’s fortune was dictated by the wars against the Ottoman army that took place during the early years of the 18th century, generating the fashion of the genre of battle especially in Eastern Europe: Not surprisingly, among his most famous works are two paintings depicting the Battle of Petervardino (1714) and the Battle of Belgrade (1717), both now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. However, it is necessary to remember that most of his compositions depict ambushes and skirmishes not specifically linked to real episodes, The works are characterized by a lively palette of Venetian taste and an iconography of battle closely linked to the pictorial tradition of northern Europe, with particular reference to the area of Flanders.The painting in question depicts a chaotic and dynamic battle scene. In the foreground, there is a fight between knights, with figures on horses that clash and face each other with swords and spears. The ground is littered with bodies of fallen men and animals, suggesting the violence and extreme ferocity of the battle. The composition is crowded and complex, with numerous human and animal figures filling the pictorial space. The scene is set in an open landscape, with a fortified city in the background, situated on the shore of a lake. To emphasize the dramatic tone of the scene is also the sky under which the clash takes place, with white clouds that stand out against an intense blue. The colour palette is rich and varied, with warm and earthy hues for human and animal figures, and colder and brighter hues for sky and water. The colors are applied with quick and sharp strokes, creating a sense of movement and dynamism. The details are numerous and meticulous, from the armour of the knights to the harnesses of the horses to the flags that wave in the background. The atmosphere emanating from the painting is one of chaos and violence, but also of drama and pathos. The battle scene is represented with great realism and intensity, and the viewer is involved in the scene as if he were present.