Marzio Masturzio (active in Naples and Rome around the middle of the 17th century), Battle scene

Marzio Masturzio (active in Naples and Rome around the middle of the 17th century)

Battle scene

Oil on canvas, 35×72 cm

With frame, 47×85 cm

Marzio Masturzio was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active in Naples and Rome in the second half of the 17th century. He was a pupil and friend of Salvator Rosa and, like him, specialized in battle scenes. According to the biographer Bernardo De Dominici, Masturzio moved to Rome with Rosa and, together, they updated their training, initially influenced by the activity of Aniello Falcone, looking at the examples provided by the works of international battle painters active in the Roman area. His works show considerable energy and attention to detail in the representation of clashes between knights, with lively brushstrokes and a use of color that, while inspired by Rosa, demonstrates his completely autonomous artistic personality. The artist's catalogue finds in the two Battles preserved at the Galleria Corsini in Rome the figurative documents to clearly define his personality. Marzio Masturzo is an emblematic case of 'Italian battle painting', due to the scant biographical information about him in contrast with a substantial catalogue that expresses a rare qualitative coherence and a great technical-executive level. Our painting, showing a battle scene near a city centre, could presumably belong to the mature phase of Masturzio's activity, due to the classical citations of the scenography and the excited description of baroque taste. In the second phase of his career, in fact, the painter emulates, while maintaining his independence under the technical-iconographic aspect, the creations of Jacques Courtois known as Borgognone. From Borgognone derives the description of the combat in the background, where the harsh fight thickens lumps of smoke and dust with an intense realistic tone and on which the colours of the uniforms and harnesses stand out.

The battle depicted in the painting is that of Vienna, fought on 12 September 1683, in which the Austro-Polish forces faced the Turks: in the background it is possible to see the dome of St. Stephen's Church in Vienna and the Danube River, which flows through the Austrian city. The main winner was the King of Poland, Jan Sobieski, who is seen in the centre with the Austrian general Von Stahremberg.