Siege battle scene of a fortified city (probably Brussels or Tournai)

oil on canvas, cm. 59 x 98

with frame, cm. 73 x 114

Work accompanied by Expertise by Prof. Walther Bernt, Munich (copy)

The striking battle under consideration is a characteristic work of Adam Frans van der Meulen (Brussels 1632 - Paris 1690), a French Baroque painter of Flemish origin, specialized in war scenes.

The great popularity of this artist is connected to the task entrusted to him by Louis XIV, king of France, as court painter during the War of Devolution (1667 - 1668), fought by France for the possession of the Netherlands (Flanders, today part of Belgium, and Franche-Comte), then under Spanish domination. On commission from the Sun King, he traveled with the army and therefore became an eyewitness to these events, in order to immortalize the military glories of the monarch in painting: the works created were then placed to embellish the various royal residences and given to the highest offices army.

The work in question immortalizes one of the many battles of the French advance, with the siege of one of the 32 Spanish fortresses then conquered, depending on the type of fortified city, the siege of Tournai in 1667, or the bombardment of the city of Brussels, realized instead in 1695, to which followed a ruinous fire of the city. In the foreground we see a portrait of the French ruler on horseback, together with his dignitaries, now certain of victory.

His pictorial style, perfectly recognizable in the proposed canvas, is characterized by the subtlety of the line and the precision of the atmospheric perspective, from which there are reminiscences of the style of Charles Le Brun and Philips Wouwerman.

In his works he remained faithful to his Flemish origins in terms of color and executive details, although his style naturally tempered himself with that of the French school, influenced by the classic landscape painting of Claude Lorrain and Nicolas Poussin.

Excellent storage conditions. Complete with gold frame.

Certificate of origin and authenticity, which will certify its complete originality (FIMA IITALIA - CINOA)

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