After Christian Reder, Retreat from Battle, Oil on Canvas

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Beautiful oil on canvas attributable to Christian Reder, also known as Monsù Leandro, a painter from Leipzig who traveled across … Read more Beautiful oil on canvas attributable to Christian Reder, also known as Monsù Leandro, a painter from Leipzig who traveled across Europe to study and paint, arriving in Italy, passing through Venice, and then settling in Rome in 1686. A famous painter for depictions of battles and genre scenes. In the foreground, a raw scene is depicted with restless horses and men with exhausted faces ready to retreat after the battle. In the absence of any reference to any particular faction, we can refer to this painting as belonging to the genre of "battles without heroes," that is, battles with neither winners nor losers. By avoiding the inclusion of references or allusions to factions or alignments, battle painters sought to sell their works more easily and, veiledly, expressed open criticism of the horrors of war. In the background, on the right side, a town on a rocky ridge and, in the distance on the left side, a besieged village, visual references that unequivocally point to the Lazio countryside. In the painting, we can see with what fluency and confidence the painter approached the figurative execution of the characters and horses and carefully studied the composition. Characteristic of Reder are these faces, somewhat childish and inexpressive, which balance the compositional force of the battle and the lively chromaticity of the backgrounds and the sky. The work is on its original canvas, with a period lacquer and gold frame and is in excellent condition. Canvas dimensions: 75 x 50 See less