111 - JAN VAN HUCHTENBURGH

JAN VAN HUCHTENBURGH (1646 Haarlem – 1733 Amsterdam) Battle Scene, c. 1700 Oil on canvas. 46 x 56.5 cm. Framed. Craquelure, previously restored. Provenance: Private collection, Brandenburg; Friedrich Kirschner Art Gallery, purveyor to the court; private collection of the von Bassewitz family. Cavalry battles such as this one were the centerpiece of Huchtenburgh’s oeuvre. He was the most important Dutch battle painter of his time, trained by Adam Frans van der Meulen, court painter to Louis XIV, and later served for many years under Prince Eugene of Savoy, whose military campaigns he depicted in large cycles. Depicted here is a dramatic cavalry battle against a vast sky streaked with smoke and clouds; in the background on the left, a burning city. In the center stands a flag bearer holding a yellow, fluttering standard, surrounded by fighting horsemen in colorful attire, while in the foreground, fallen soldiers, weapons, and pieces of armor mark the battlefield. The dynamically composed scene, the precise depiction of horses and figures, and the characteristic color scheme are typical of Huchtenburg’s battle scenes, which follow in the tradition of Wouwerman.