Cavalry Battling by the River, a Pair | Circle of Karel Breydel

CIRCLE OF KAREL BREYDEL (ANTWERP, 1678-1744)
Flemish School, circa second quarter of the 18th century

Cavalry Battling Along the River Banks

Oil on panel | right panel signed illegibly lower left corner "C. Crondel (?)

Item # 311AFD09Q  A powerful pair of panels that perhaps depict a battle scene from the War of the Austrian Succession and a clash between British or Austrian troops and the French army. In the distance vast battalions gather along the water's edge. Boats can be seen in the distance landing on the shores while plumes of smoke rise from the gunfire on the banks. But in the foreground, the focus of the picture is on the intensity of combat on horseback with soldiers from both sides fallen from their mounts, dead or dying on the ground while the rest of the troops remain rapt in battle.

Each painting is executed on oak panel in a manner that creates a brilliant curving panorama, not intending to perfectly match the landscapes together but rather to create a serene visual focal point that curves outward from the grove of trees in the center. The landscape is gorgeous with trees twisting into the bright blue sky under soft clouds as light cascades through the light the hills and blue waters of the bending river. An expertly painted pair of exceedingly good quality, the complex interplay of figures on the landscape is as haunting as it is admirable.

The right panel is signed illegibly in the lower left corner.

An exquisite and quite rare selection.
Measurements: 12 1/8" H x 1 1/4" D x 23 5/8" W [frame] Condition Report:
Frame is 20th century; panels in very fine condition, cleaned and sealed in a traditional Damar varnish; under UV examination, a few recent spots of inpaint are present throughout the sky, older overpaint to clouds (upper left of left and left side of panel); there is some flaring to the varnish around the signature on the right panel (lower left corner), but the signature does appear to be untouched; the surfaces appear otherwise relatively free of restoration, but more technical tools would be required for a complete examination of surface conservation due to the age and overall homogenity of the surface. A very fine presentation, ready to place.