Battle between Christian and Turkish cavalry, Marzio Masturzo (Active in Naples and Rome in the second half of the 17th century) attributable

Marzio Masturzo (Active in Naples and Rome in the second half of the 17th century)
attributable

Battle between Christian and Turkish cavalries

Oil painting on canvas

78 x 144 cm. – In frame cm. 99 x 162

Reference Bibliography:
Sestieri G., “Battle Painters. Italian and Foreign Masters of the 17th and 18th Centuries,” Ed. De Luca 1999

Complete details of the work (click HERE)

The painting depicts a heated battle scene between Christian and Turkish cavalry, set on a vast plain near a fortified city. The scene, characterized by marked dynamism and expressive force, immortalizes the two sides in the heat of battle, while on the ground lie lifeless bodies, scattered weapons, and wounded horses, heightening the drama of the clash.

The scene – which captures all the energy of the battle with a complex and well-balanced composition – the ample descriptive space given to the setting, the chromatic palette, as well as the way in which the characters are depicted, allow us to attribute our painting to a painter active in Naples in the mid-17th century.

The battles of Neapolitan painters are in fact often enhanced by intense chromaticism, a vivid and marked brushstroke, where bright reds and blues stand out, suggesting to the observer the crucial point of the conflict, with the characteristic swirling clouds rising from the clash.

The canvas, in particular, recalls the pictorial results of the artistic production of Marzio Masturzo, an emblematic exponent of the genre of seventeenth-century Italian "battle painters", active in Naples and then in Rome in the second half of the seventeenth century.

Peculiar to this scene is the representation of the fight in the foreground, described with realism, excellent pictorial quality and careful direction, which highlights the vortex of violence that finds its peak in the centre of the canvas, with the two opposing knights, according to a surprisingly realistic tone.

Another typical feature of the Neapolitan author is the presence of lateral wings created by fortified hills overlooking fortresses and castles, sometimes inspired by real buildings and which, together with clouds and black smoke, create a sort of scenic presence around the space of the battle.

In our canvas, a fortification with round towers stands out on the right, evoking the Maschio Angioino, described several times by the painter, often with interpretative variations.

The canvas finds several possible comparisons with works belonging to his corpus, as can be observed in some of the comparative images proposed below, characterised by the same elements including a similar speed of execution, caricatural physiognomies and lateral wings with towers, like those present in Palazzo Barberini.

The works of certain attribution (including the battle of the Galleria Nazionale in Rome, https://catalogo.beniculturali.it/detail/HistoricOrArtisticProperty/1200252356, fig.1) testify to the painter's closeness to Salvator Rosa, of whom he was a pupil and friend, but also to the early phase of Jacques Courtois, known as Borgognone.

We can also see these parallels in the 'Combat between Turkish and Christian knights', signed MM on the back and published in Sestieri's monograph (p. 388 n. 9, fig.2).

Among Masturzio's works comparable to ours, particularly noteworthy are the paintings of the same subject in two private collections, one in Parma (https://catalogo.fondazionezeri.unibo.it/scheda/opera/86110/, fig. 3) and the other in Modena (fig. 4), as well as the Battle Scene, also depicting a clash between Christian and Turkish cavalry, catalogued in the Zeri Photo Archive with card number 84536 (https://catalogo.fondazionezeri.unibo.it/scheda/opera/86459/, fig. 5). All three of these works reproduce, within a context of precise compositional similarities, the central figure of the warrior on a white horse rushing towards the enemy, pistol in hand, as seen in our painting.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Good condition, complete with gilded and lacquered frame.

The work is sold complete with a certificate of authenticity and a descriptive iconographic sheet.

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