Battle painter active in Italy in the 17th century, Battle between Christian and Turkish cavalry, oil on canvas painting

Battle painter active in Italy in the 17th century Battle between Christian and Turkish cavalry Technique and Measurements: Oil on canvas, 77 x 145 cm Price: private negotiation Object accompanied by a certificate of authenticity The painting, made in oil on canvas, depicts a battle between Christian and Turkish cavalry. Characterized by a strong dynamism, the main scene occupies the lower horizontal section of the canvas. In the background, the continuation of the clash can be observed just outside the walls of a city whose towers mark the horizon. On the left, some hilly reliefs fade into the horizon. The sky is marked by fair-weather clouds in contrast to the dark smoke of the battle. Stylistically, the painting can be traced back to a painter active in Italy in the 17th century, a successor to the major interpreter of the genre, Jacques Courtois, known as Il Borgognone (Saint-Hyppolite 1621 – Rome 1676). The genre of battle painting was very successful in the collections of the Italian and European nobility of the 17th and 18th centuries, and numerous painters tried their hand at this thematic genre. The battles of the Italian Renaissance, in which the scene converged on a precise protagonist, evolved in the 17th century towards a type of combat "without a hero." The bloody realism of the details and the dynamic development of the narrative confuse the figure of the protagonist, when present, to give importance to the whirlwind of horses and armed fighters, among whom, moreover, a winner does not emerge. The drafting of an expertise of the work is underway to identify the hand of the painter through historical-artistic studies; furthermore, new images will be added shortly.