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Catalogue raisonné: Description in Flemish paintings C. 1600-C. 1800 III, Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, 2010, cat.no. 32: 

Technical notes: The support consists of a single
board of oak (0.5–0.8 cm. thick) with a horizontal grain.
All of the edges have been bevelled from 2–4 cm. The
support has its original format.

The preparation consists of a white chalk ground
applied thinly and evenly with a brush to cover the structure
of the support completely. In places the ground has
been applied over the lower edge of the panel. There is a
semi-transparent light brownish imprima tura.
A sketch was probably made (faintly visible on one of
the columns) in a light brown colour, possibly with a
brush. In parts there is opaque black underpainting of
the figures in the foreground. The same opaque black
layer is present in the upper right hand corner in the sky.
The paint layer is thin but applied opaquely. The foreground
and background have been painted separately
and reserves left for architectural details on the right in
the painting as well as the urn. A reserve has been left for
the tower on the left of the painting against the sky.
Details have been painted separately over the foreground.

The figures have been rendered sketchily in
opaque paint and with distinct facial features. Impasto
highlights are present in the figures and the clouds. The
combatants on horseback are painted in blue (Turks in
blue) and red mainly in the foreground. The central
scene with a fallen white horse can also be seen in other
paintings by Breydel. The figures in the foreground and
background are rendered thinly and are today semi-transparent
(the coloured glazes have faded). The main scene
has been rendered in thin paint over the landscape in the
background.

The materials, technique and execution match no. 33
completely. There is a tendency to cleavage in the sky
and the paint surface is rather abraded. The painting
underwent conservation treatment in 1929.

Provenance: Karl XIII’s estate inventory 1818; Karl
XV’s coll., Rosersberg; purchased in 1873 by auction
after Karl XV together with Rbg 67, cat. no. 759–760;
transferred from the NM (formerly NM 1147) to
Rosersberg c. 1943.

Bibliography: Göthe 1887, p. 32, no. 1178; Saur 1966,
vol. 14 1966, p. 185.

This battle scene depicts a cavalry skirmish with a
mountainous landscape in the background in which
buildings and ruins have been placed. In the foreground
a battle is taking place between a large number of horsemen
in colourful garments and with flags of different
colours. A white horse has fallen and is portrayed with
its turban-clad rider. Breydel painted several similar
motifs with battles between the Turks and the Austrians.
Similar compositions can be found, for instance in
the Museum in Gotha, in the royal collections in
Liechtenstein and in the Royal Palace in Madrid.1

On the right a ruin with pillars and an urn on a
pedestal are depicted and in the middleground on the
left a besieged fortress is on fire surrounded by battling
horsemen. There are similarities between the
composition of this work and several other battle
scenes by Breydel. One recurring element is the
detailed foreground with a dramatic conflict, often
with a white horse occupying the central position, a
middle ground in which buildings are situated and a
landscape in the background with mountains that fade
into blue.2

In the middle ground and the background to the
right sheer mountains are depicted in the Nationalmuseum’s
painting and behind it a lake with a blue sky
and fleeting clouds. The ruin in the foreground with
its pillars and urn on a pedestal is characteristic of
Breydel and can be found in a modified form in other
works of his that have been preserved. The composition
of this painting is carefully considered, with the
main battle scene in the foreground, a middle ground
with the besieged fortress and in the background an
ornate landscape. The cavalry skirmish is characterised
by its drama and movement and also by the distinct
wealth of detail in the portrayal of the horses,
flags and riders. It probably depicts a battle against the
Turks, which is underscored by the turban-clad rider
who meets his fate on his white horse. This painting
has a companion piece in no. 33.

KS
1 Legrand 1963, p. 223.
2 See, for instance, Sotheby’s London, 5 July 1995, lot 207; Christie’s Amsterdam,
8 May 1995, lot 57; Sotheby’s Amsterdam, 3 May 1999, lot 53;
Sotheby’s Amsterdam 18 May 2004, lot 16

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Karel Breydel | Kavalleridrabbning | Nationalmuseum