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Core Record |
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| Title | Battle Piece | |
| Alternative Title | Pitched Battle | |
| Collection | Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum | |
| Artist | Attributed to Calza, Antonio (Italian painter, 1653-1725) Previously attributed to Courtois, Jacques (French painter and printmaker, 1621-1676, active in Italy) Previously attributed to Parrocel, Pierre (French painter and printmaker, 1670-1739) Previously attributed to Rosa, Salvator (Italian painter and engraver, 1615-1673) Previously attributed to Wouwerman, Philips (Dutch painter, 1619-1668) |
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| Date Earliest | possibly about 1650 | |
| Date Latest | possibly about 1700 | |
| Description | The popularity of cavalry scenes such as this arose towards the mid seventeenth century and endured into the eighteenth. The combined influence of the most prominent artists manifested in the paintings of a number of followers and imitators. The debate continues, therefore, over the attribution of this painting and its pair. While the pendant depicts a Roman conflict, the horsemen in this composition appear seventeenth-century. Although this might imply a battle contemporary to the artist, it is more likely to be an imagined skirmish, invented to convey an energetic melee of colour and movement. | |
| Current Accession Number | 1956:93 | |
| Former Accession Number | No. 667; No. 1013 | |
| Subject | military and war; animal (horse); figure | |
| Measurements | 65.9 x 98.8 cm cm (estimate) | |
| Material | oil on canvas | |
| Acquisition Details | Given by Guy Whinyates 1956. | |
| Provenance | Whinyates collection before 1940. | |
| Publications | Wright, C., Old Master Paintings in Britain, London, 1976, p. 175; Wright, C., Cheltenham Art Gallery and Museums, Baron de Ferrieres Collection: Catalogue of Foreign Paintings from the De Ferrieres Collection and Other Sources, Cheltenham, 1988, p. 108. | |
| Notes | Back of stretcher: labels handwritten in thick black ink, 'Battle Scene / By Wouwerman' and 'WHINYATES COLL.N / SEPT. 26 1940'; pencil, 'Battle Scene / Wouverman'; white round label, 'F / 289'; white label stamped 8 FEB 1955 / 6 JAN 1955'. Back of frame: label, 'EXHIBITED / 11 APRIL 1967'; white round label, 'No. 130'; chalk 'HALL STAIR'. Pendant to Battle Scene (1956: 92). A plaque on the frame of the painting states 'Italian School (attributed to Salvatore [sic] Rosa)'. The mounts in the Witt Library, London, record a previous attribution to Pierre Parrocel. Correspondence with National Gallery, London, 28 January 1975, negates Rosa attribution and instead attributes it to Courtois. Attribution to Calza made by Professor Giuliano Briganti from photographs. Wright 1988 agrees. Listed in Andrews, G., Cheltenham Art Gallery and Museum Service: Fine Art Collection: Checklist Catalogue, 1979, cat. no. 667, as Italian School and cat. no. 1013, as attributed to Salvator Rosa. Guy Whinyates, Winsley, Buckfast, Devon. |
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| Rights Owner | Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museums | |
| Author | Dr Anne L. Cowe | |