Lambert de Hondt I (1620–1652), Battle scenes

Lambert de Hondt I (1620–1652)

Battle scenes

(2) Oil on panel, 18 x 13 cm

Signature at the bottom center

The figures of knights and soldiers in the work under examination can be fully attributed to the production of the Flemish painter Lambert de Hondt I. This attribution is solidly based on stylistic comparisons with works held in prestigious institutions. In particular, it is possible to find significant affinities with the paintings held in the Städel Museum in Frankfurt and in the Apsley House. In these canvases, one can admire the same treatment of the sky, characterized by a bright shade of blue, a distinctive element of his palette. The way in which de Hondt I deals with the figures of soldiers and horses is also consistent with other published and documented works, such as those present in the RKD portal.

Biographical information on Lambert de Hondt the Elder is, unfortunately, fragmentary. It is known that he was the son of Rombout de Hondt. A certain date is 12 June 1632, the day on which his marriage to Anna Tousijn in Mechelen (also known by the French toponym Malines) is recorded. It is certain that the artist carried out most of his professional activity in this city, strategically positioned between the two important artistic centres of Brussels and Antwerp, which may have influenced his production and his artistic relationships. The date of his death can be deduced indirectly: 10 February 1665 is the date of his widow's remarriage, indicating that Lambert de Hondt I must have already died before that day.

He is sometimes confused in attributions with another artist, Lambert de Hondt II or the young, with whom there are obvious differences to the point that the first is called the old man and the other the young man. There was probably a relationship between the two.

The artist fits into the pictorial panorama of his time with peculiarities, distinguishing himself for a varied production that ranges from equestrian and battle scenes to genre paintings, landscapes and religious subjects. These works bring to mind the manner of David Teniers the Younger, suggesting a stylistic influence or a thematic resonance with contemporary Flemish painting. The predilection for horses and chivalric scenes is evident, alongside representations of village life and hunting scenes.

As was common at the time, de Hondt was a collaborative artist, a practice that testifies to the interconnected nature of the seventeenth-century art system. His partnership with Willem van Herp is particularly significant. In these joint works, he painted the landscape, while van Herp added the figures, as can be seen in paintings such as Noah Gathering His Family and Animals into the Ark, Orpheus Enchanting the Animals, and Saint Francis with the Animals. These canvases, characterized by similar compositions, are a variation on the theme of the so-called “paradise landscape.” This genre, popularized by Jan Brueghel the Elder, depicts the Garden of Eden as described in the Book of Genesis, populated by a multitude of animals, fish, and birds, an expression of divine creation.

De Hondt certainly reached high levels of execution to the point that his works entered important collections, as in the case of An Encampment with Soldiers Playing Cards, today in the Wellington Museum (Apsley House, London), which was marked with a white lily on the back, symbol of works of art in the private collection of Elisabetta Farnese. Often his compositions are, as in this case, accompanied by the signature LD HONDT.

The figure on horseback, the protagonist of the two tablets, has been identified as John Maurice of Nassau-Siegen, a powerful diplomat who held the position of Dutch governor in Brazil in the 17th century.