Lot 1016 Dα

The composition shows a group of horsemen and foot soldiers, either professional soldiers or local militia, gathered in a forest clearing in a Flemish landscape. Among them are curassiers, arkebussiers, musketeers and piekeniers. This very well-preserved panel painting is an excellent example of the military genre painting for which Sebastian Vrancx was so famous. It was probably his military experience as an officer and later captain of the Antwerp City Guard that enabled Vrancx to describe the clothing and equipment of soldiers and their military actions in such detail as in this painting.

Vrancx's multi-figure "Army Camp" in the Hamburger Kunsthalle (inv. no. HK-334), dated 1617, is closely related to the present painting in terms of composition and provides a clue to a possible date. There are also similarities to the painting "Überfall" in Aschaffenburg Castle Johannisburg (inv. no. 6295), dated 1610. It is possible that the present painting was created before 1617, when the Antwerp guild of panel makers introduced the city's coat of arms (two hands and a citadel) as a mark of quality on the reverse of panels. This brand is missing on the reverse of the panel. Another version of the theme entitled "Cavalry and Footmen in front of a Chapel" can be found in Gotha, Schlossmuseum Schloss Friedenstein, Gemäldesammlung (inv. no. SG 715). This panel painting with somewhat smaller dimensions is monogrammed SV (on the horse in the centre). The commanding officer on the white horse in the centre of the painting has been replaced by a knight in armour in the Gotha version, but otherwise the two paintings are almost identical. The central group of four horsemen with the officer in armour on the white horse, together with the two soldiers encamped to their right, is a recurring motif in both Vrancx's and David Vinckboon's work. It can be assumed that Vrancx adopted this composition from his Amsterdam contemporary. Klaus Ertz has listed several of these compositions by Vinckboons in his monograph entitled "Waldlichtung mit Vorbereitung auf einen Überfall" (K. Ertz: David Vinckboons, Lingen 2016, nos. 47-52). Vrancx repeated this central group in a number of mostly portrait-format paintings (cf. e.g. Dulwich Picture Gallery, inv./cat. no. DPG356).

The question arises as to whether Vrancx depicted a specific historical event in this painting. Joost Vander Auwera, who confirmed the attribution to Vrancx (written communication dated 12 March 2024), denies this. Paintings by Vrancx are largely invented scenarios with no topographical reference to a specific historical event with anonymous