388 - A. MEULEN (1632-1690), Parade ground in front of the church, Etching

A. MEULEN (1632-1690), Parade ground in front of the church, Etching Adam Frans van der Meulen (before 1632 Brussels - 1690 Paris): Parade ground in front of a place with a Gothic church, 17th century, Etching Technique: Etching on Paper Date: 17th century Description: At the gates of a small village with a large early Gothic church, three mounted soldiers meet and discuss with each other. Sitting on the backs of their powerful horses, two of the riders, who look like officers, are in lively conversation with each other, one gesticulating wildly with his riding crop. A third rider is leading another horse by the reins, struggling to calm the animals, startled by the sudden movement of the cavalryman in front of them. A fourth person, plainly dressed and more like a citizen of the nearby village, stands beside the scene, seemingly laboriously trying to convey a point of view.Almost like the scene of a recently broken encampment, the field in front of the village lies there with deep ruts in the ground. The church, disproportionately large for the cluster of houses, with large early Gothic traceried windows, flying buttresses and a single steeple, as well as the single-towered church in the neighbouring village, can be placed in the style of the early Gothic period in the region of Normandy or the greater Paris area.Perhaps the etching, drawn with elaborate, moving lines, foreshadows an armed conflict in the immediate vicinity, the course of which the gentlemen on horseback are still exchanging their strategies and views. Keywords: Gothic, Church, Village, Town, Normandy, France, 19th century, Romanticism, Landscape, Germany, Size: Paper: 33,4 cm x 45,0 cm (13,1 x 17,7 in), Plate: 22,7 cm x 37,4 cm (8,9 x 14,7 in), Depiction: 22,0 cm x 36,7 cm (8,7 x 14,4 in) Condition: Good condition. Clear foxing is visible on the entire sheet. Along the upper edge of the sheet there is a prominent diagonal crease as well as further crease and bump marks. In the centre there is a slightly torn out puncture at the top as well as a marginal tear. A print-related loss is visible at the upper left.