Offered by Antichità Castelbarco
Matteo Stom (Venice, 1643 – Verona, 1702)
Battle of Knights Near a Fortified City
Oil on canvas 93 x 132 cm. - In an antique frame, 110 x 151 cm.
Copy of an expert report by Giovanni Mariacher
The composition is dominated by a frenzied battle scene, a chaotic and tightly packed tangle of rearing warhorses and knights drawing their swords. Within the melee, two opposing military factions are clearly distinguishable: Christian soldiers, protected by gleaming metal armor, engage in hand-to-hand combat with Ottoman forces, recognizable by their characteristic headgear and turbans.
The depiction of the horses is particularly striking, portrayed in dynamic and dramatic poses (some rearing, others on the ground), which accentuate the scene’s sense of violence and movement.
The battle takes place within a wide valley; in the background on the left stands a mighty fortress city protected by tall towers and ramparts.
On the right side, a steep hill serves as a vantage point for other troops—archers or lookouts positioned high up—ready to coordinate the assault maneuvers.
The painting is attributed to the Venetian painter Matteo Stom (c. 1643–1702), a highly accomplished specialist in this iconographic genre, who established himself in the Veneto region by playing a key role in the dissemination of this genre in its modern sense, and as a bridge to the specific Emilian tradition in this field, exemplified by Brescianino or Spolverini.
Our painting, which thus represents a very important addition to the catalog of Stom’s works compiled to date, is a fully-fledged part of his figurative repertoire, which includes several recurring and easily identifiable characteristics, first and foremost an intense dynamism that animates the scene, characterized by overwhelming movement.
Another typical element of the painter’s style is the vivid and contrasting color scheme, with a vibrant palette dominated by warm earth tones (browns, ochres, and dark browns), against which the vivid reds of the flags and cloaks, as well as the metallic reflections of the armor, stand out, along with the Caravaggesque lighting that illuminates the bodies and faces of the combatants in a focused manner.
The brushwork is energetic, highlighted by rapid strokes and a strong chiaroscuro contrast that emphasizes the three-dimensionality of the bodies and the sense of the action’s claustrophobic and dramatic movement.
Many of his battle scenes are housed in major Italian institutions, including the Palazzo Montecitorio in Rome, the Civic Museum of Bassano del Grappa, the Accademia dei Concordi in Rovigo, and the Correr Museum in Venice
Delevery information :
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