Jacob Weier, 'Cavalry attacked by Infantry', 1645
About the work
Overview
Weier, who trained in Holland, specialised in battle scenes. This one is typical of the pictures he made in imitation of the Dutch painter Philips Wouwerman. Compare it for example with Wouwerman’s frenetic battle scene, Cavalry making a Sortie from a Fort on a Hill, which is also in the National Gallery’s collection.
A group of soldiers on horseback have been penned in by infantry, who aim their weapons at the encircled group. The light is concentrated on the grey horse in the foreground that rears up in panic. Its rider, with his elaborately plumed hat, must be the commander of the besieged forces.
Weier’s signature and the date 1645 are faintly visible beneath the sword of the man kneeling in the right foreground. This is one of two pictures of this date, which are the earliest evidence of Weier’s career as an artist.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- Cavalry attacked by Infantry
- Artist
- Jacob Weier
- Artist dates
- active 1645; died 1670
- Date made
- 1645
- Medium and support
- oil on wood
- Dimensions
- 38.4 × 60.2 cm
- Inscription summary
- Signed; Dated
- Acquisition credit
- Presented by Sir Augustus Wollaston Franks, 1896
- Inventory number
- NG1470
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
Provenance
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Susan Foister, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The German Paintings before 1800’, London 2024; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Bibliography
-
1959Levey, Michael, National Gallery Catalogues: The German Schools, London 1959
-
2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
-
2024S. Foister, National Gallery Catalogues: The German Paintings before 1800, 2 vols, London 2024
About this record
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.