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Philips Wouwerman (painter) Dutch, 1619 - 1668 Battle Scene, c. 1645/1646 oil on panel 48 x 82.5 cm (18 7/8 x 32 1/2 in.) framed: 62.9 x 97.3 x 6 cm (24 3/4 x 38 5/16 x 2 3/8 in.) Gift of Joseph F. McCrindle in memory of Frederick A. den Broeder 2000.159.1 |
Philips Wouwerman, an important Haarlem painter from the mid-17th century, is best known for his elegant hunting scenes; however, in his early career, he specialized in boldly expressive depictions of military encounters. Many recurring motifs in these battle scenes relate to the work of his older contemporary, the Italianate painter Pieter van Laer (c. 1592–1642), whose sketchbook was in Wouwerman's possession.
In this powerful work from about 1645–1646, the viewer is presented with a vivid and fierce battle between unidentified armies. As officers and mercenaries clash with their opponents, dead bodies are strewn on the ground, while a gruesomely maimed figure tries to flee from this maelstrom of action. Instead of the romance of military exploits, we witness a brutal display of human passion and suffering. Yet, for all of the rough realism of the subject matter, Wouwerman painted this scene with a remarkably subtle palette and close attention to detail. Every element is carefully integrated into a dynamic composition that displays his considerable artistic skill at perspective and lifelike representation of bodies in motion.
Images of warfare had a long tradition in Netherlandish painting, from the 16th-century representations of peasant revolts to the various combat scenes popular during the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648). For Wouwerman, this long-drawn and devastating war may have become a particularly topical subject during his short period of study in northern Germany in 1638 or 1639, where he may have witnessed or heard first-hand accounts of the armed conflicts in that country.