Spanish school; first third of the seventeenth century, circa 1700. "War of the Spanish Succession". Oil on canvas. Relined.

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OLD MASTERS

By Setdart Auction House

Nov 3, 2021

Set Reminder 2021-11-03 08:00:00 2021-11-03 08:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : OLD MASTERS https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/setdart-auction-house/old-masters-7786
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• Lot Description
  Spanish school; first third of the seventeenth century, circa 1700. "War of the Spanish Succession". Oil on canvas. Relined. Presents important faults and repainting. Preserves frame of later period. Measurements: 171 x 132 cm; 188 x 147 cm (frame). In the foreground, displaced to the left of the composition, there is a group of men located outside some stores. The main character, defined by the detail with which he has been portrayed and by his leading position in the scene, directs his hand towards the right side. This is the place where a landscape can be appreciated, composed by means of different shots that provide great depth to the image. In each one of the planes, which make up the background, you can see various military formations, referring to different regiments and at the end, the siege of a city. In spite of being a pictorial recreation of the war, it is evident that the author wanted to show the representation of power, and how it is imposed in a staggered way on all the layers of society. In the first place, the representatives of this power, the church, the crown and the high nobility, discussing how to organize the war conflict, while the lower echelons fight in the conflict. This work expresses to perfection what the full baroque represents, a dynamic, theatrical, narrative and expressive style, supported by a solid handling of light, composition and color. Thus, we see an apparently chaotic scene, although rigorously studied. This type of battle paintings had a wide development, caused by the theme, which not only extolled the victories of those who had participated in the battle. But beyond this testimonial feature, these paintings reflected with their theme, scenes of historical character. A genre that was widely valued, being considered the best in the history of art, for extolling the virtues and the noble spirit of the acts. Due to the clothes worn by the main characters in the scene, it is likely that it is a representation of the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714), caused by the death of Charles II, who died in 1700 without any direct descendant, who could opt for the throne. Although weakened by more than a century of continuous conflict, in 1700 the Spanish Empire was still a world power with vast dominions that included the Spanish Netherlands, much of Italy, the Philippines and part of the Americas. Charles' closest heirs were members of the Austrian Habsburgs or French Bourbons; the acquisition of an undivided Spanish empire by either threatened the European balance of power.
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