A Battle Scene attributed to the circle of JACQUES COURTOIS (1621-1676), also called Il Borgognone, circa the mid 17th century, oil on canvas, unframed.
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Jacques Courtois, called il Borgognone, was a Franche-Comtois–Italian painter, draughtsman, and etcher. He was mainly active in Rome and Florence and became known as the leading battle painter of his age. He also created history paintings and portraits. He became a Jesuit later in life but continued to paint.
Courtois painted imaginary as well historical battles drawn from various episodes of the Thirty Years' War. Drawing from his own firsthand experience of wartime facts and techniques, he succeeded in giving his visual representations the impression of 'truthfulness'. Regarded as one of the great battle painters of the 17th century, he was referred to as the 'Raphael of battles' and the 'Prince Eugene of painters'. Prince Eugene was one of the most successful military commanders in modern European history. His paintings of battles were so popular that no large or small collection of his time was without a work by his hand. Courtois succeeded in creating for viewers the impression that they were actually in the thick of the battle. In Courtois' time people took great pride in the military successes of their armies. Battle paintings were, however, not only intended to celebrate national military victories. They also aimed to allow the viewer to witness the whole range of drama played out in a battle, from the brilliance of individual manoeuvres and actions to the bloody consequences to the participants. Courtois relied on all his dramatic skills and compositional devices to create exciting scenes.
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A very similar painting of slightly larger dimensions attributed to Jacques Courtois sold at Lyon & Turnbull auctions 29th May 2008 lot 30, realising £3,000, and another of a similar manner was offered at Colasanti Casa d'Aste Roma 19th October 2022 lot 44 with an estimate of €4,000-€6,000.
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Size: 438 x 491 mm (approx.)
