Offered by Antichità Castelbarco
Flemish school of the 17th century - Workshop of David Teniers the Younger (Antwerp 1610 - Brussels 1690)
Guard post with soldiers at rest
Oil on canvas, cm. 64 x 83, Framed cm. 81 x 102
This painting, full of charm, depicts a group of soldiers resting in the entrance hall of a fortress sitting around a game table. The canvas expresses all the magnetism that has always surrounded this particular theme, of the guardrooms, extremely fashionable in 17th century genre painting, and which induced many Flemish painters to dedicate scenes of great wealth to it, such as the one we are happy to offer you.
It is a work to be traced back to the workshop of David Teniers II (Antwerp 1610 - Brussels 1690), which addressed this theme countless times and in many variations, some of which are now in the most prestigious international collections, including:
- https://rkd.nl/nl/explore/images/7147
- http://www.museidigenova.it/it/content/il-corpo-di-guardia
- https://www.hermitagemuseum.org/wps/portal/hermitage/digital-collection/01.+Paintings/31367/
- https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/437777
- https://www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-work/le-corps-de-garde/44bcde84-9571-4693-928c-61e0d8d97472
The author of our painting, while recognizing himself as a pupil and follower of the master, describes the environment with effective realism by placing the characters, a group of armigers at rest intent on playing dice, in the foreground.
As frequently in Dutch and Flemish painting, the main theme hides here a secondary theme, in this religious case, and precisely an episode from the life of St. Peter narrated in the Acts of the Apostles, in which the saint manages to escape from the prison of Herod thanks at the intervention of an angel, while the guards are distracted.
One aspect of great interest in the composition is the sumptuous still life on the left, where the author placed a pile of weapons, with spears, a shield, a rolled up banner, and several pieces of armor disorderly thrown to the ground. The set of objects is completed by a richly engraved armor, perfectly composed and complete with plume. It should be considered that this is a war clothing already obsolete in the late seventeenth century, and therefore inserted in line with the moralizing intent: the armor is a reference to vanitas, a reason for the transience of power and fame.
The canvas is in excellent condition.
Delevery information :
We take care of and organise the transport of the purchased works, both for Italy and abroad, through professional and insured carriers.
We take great care We personally take care of the packaging, to which we devote a great deal of care: each work is carefully packed, first with arti- cle material, then with a custom-made wooden box.
Should you have the desire to see this or other works in person, we would be happy to welcome you to our gallery in Riva del Garda, Viale Giuseppe Canella 18, we are always open by appointment only.
