Spanish school; second half of the 18th century.... Lot n° 44

Spanish school; second half of the 18th century. "Battle". Oil on canvas. Relined. Presents twentieth century frame imitating models of the seventeenth century. It has faults in the frame. Measurements: 103 x 129 cm; 122,5 x 148 cm (frame). In this work the author poses a narrative story, since he positions different scenes in the same image. In the upper left area, in the distance, a bridge can be seen, over which a whole cavalry regiment is parading, ready to enter the city. The right area has a small promontory where the horses are led by the military trotting towards the lower area of the canvas. However, in the foreground, located in the lower area, some soldiers are celebrating an event with the locals. These three images may indicate different moments of the siege of a city, starting from the moment in which the soldiers arrive to the city, to the celebration of the victory. Although it may also reflect different actions of the different regiments of an army, since at no time is the exact moment of the battle visible, it is not possible to define whether it is a narrative or isolated military scenes brought together on the same canvas. This type of battle paintings were very frequent in Spain, the tradition was born in the Baroque period and continued until well into the 19th century. Its purpose of double character, resided in informing in a documentary way on the produced confrontations and also as exaltation and political glorification. These two precepts came together at a time when Spain was suffering a great economic crisis, caused by the weak reigns of the monarchs, who were facing a great number of war conflicts that weakened the country.