Pair Of Battle Scenes, Jacques Courtois The Burgundian ( 1621 – 1676)

Jacques Courtois the Burgundian (Saint Hippolyte 1621 – Rome 1676) attributed to

Pair of battle scenes between Imperial cavalry and the Turks

Oil on canvas (51 x 71 cm – Antique frame, minor losses and imperfections 61 x 80 cm)

Reference bibliography: G. Sestieri, Battle Painters. Italian and Foreign Masters of the 17th and 18th Centuries, Rome 1999, pp. 154–205.

This splendid pair of battle scenes between imperial and Turkish cavalry displays the compositional and stylistic characteristics typical of the work of Jacques Courtois, known as ‘the Burgundian’ (Saint Hippolyte 1621 – Rome 1676), a prominent battle painter active in the mid-17th century who, thanks to his Baroque style characterised by striking realism and a highly dramatic rendering of conflict, became a leading figure in this genre.

The works display fine craftsmanship with a refined painterly technique, featuring the dramatic effect of columns of smoke in the sky and the frenzied movement of the horsemen, which, in our opinion, would confirm their authorship by the hand of the painter himself.

A distinctive feature of his scenes is the depiction of the combat in the foreground, rendered with careful composition, which highlights the whirlwind of violence reaching its climax at the centre of the canvas, with the horseman striking blows with his sword in a strikingly realistic manner.

Borgonone’s passion for battle scenes developed following his military experience in 1636, when he enlisted in the Spanish troops stationed in Milan, where he remained until 1639, before devoting himself entirely to his career as a painter.

Battle paintings were, in fact, particularly popular during the Baroque period, often inspired by military news and thus by events of real-life relevance: the dramatic events of war that marked the 17th century, from the bloody ‘Thirty Years’ War’ to the strenuous defence of Vienna and the West against the Turks, were a fruitful source of inspiration for the emergence and extraordinary spread in the 17th century of the ‘battle’ genre in painting.

Among all the masters of the genre, the Burgundian – born in Burgundy and having moved to Italy whilst still young, where he relocated several times before settling permanently in Rome – was perhaps the best known and most celebrated, receiving commissions from some of the leading Roman and Italian families, particularly within the aristocracy and among rulers, including the Medici family.