Circle of Adam Frans Van Der Meulen

Circle of ADAM FRANS VAN DER MEULEN (Belgium, 1632 - France, 1690).
Flemish school of the second half of the 17th century.
"Battle of Turin".
Oil on canvas.
With inscription in the lower right corner: "Bataille de Turin".
Measurements: 114 x 150 cm; 130 X 175 cm (frame).

In this impressive panoramic painting of Flemish school, the painter directs our glance by a vast battlefield, with soldiers deployed in different formations, cavalry in movement and columns of smoke. The tingling background contrasts with the melee taking place in the foreground, with rearing horses, foreshortening and flashing blades of swords. The French army seems to emerge as the promising victor, as we can see from the bicorn-adorned horsemen wielding their swords in front of the Spaniards who have fallen from their horses. Probably, it narrates the siege of Turin that took place in 1640 confronting Spain and France in the context of the Thirty Years' War. The city of Turin, with its Renaissance architecture, can be seen in the distance. The twilight sky, with its rich touches of mauve in contrast to the earthy range of the countryside, accentuates key details, such as the uniforms and banners. The compositional complexity through a masterful handling of perspective, combined with the inverted narrative will in the foreground, was characteristic of the style of the Flemish painter Adam Frans van der Meulen, who was noted for his depictions of military campaigns and battles, especially in the service of King Louis XIV of France. The scene takes place in a broad landscape, with a perspective that emphasizes the immensity of the conflict and the military organization of the time. The painting shown here has an artistic and documentary interest that can be related to Meulen's area of influence, whose paintings of battles were not only visual documents but also propagandistic in the service of the French monarchy.

Frans van der Meulen or Adam-François van der Meulen was a Flemish painter and draughtsman who was particularly known for his scenes of military campaigns and conquests. Although he also painted various portraits, hunting scenes, castle paintings and landscapes. He worked in the service of the French king Louis XIV of France, for whom he painted his victories, his new possessions and several portraits. He became one of the fundamental figures in the development of the propagandistic image of the French king. His battle scenes had a great influence on the genre of military painting in France creating stylistic patterns that were highly copied. Van der Meulen was one of the most important battle painters of his time. However he is also known for his many topographical drawings, which he made in preparation for his battle pieces. His works are characterized by a Flemish aesthetic in terms of color, although his style was modified by that of the French school. His early works in the battle genre show a strong influence of his master Pieter Snayers.