Description
Francesco Casanova (London 1727 – Mödling 1803) – Knightly Battle.
Oil on canvas, in a gilded wooden frame (not signed).
– The painting is attributed to Francesco Casanova (London 1727 – Mödling 1803) based on stylistic comparisons.
Condition report: Lined canvas. The painted surface is in good condition.
This lively battle scene is a characteristic example of the work of Francesco Casanova, brother of the famous memorialist Giacomo and a specialist in the genre of battle painting that made him famous in the European courts of the 18th century.
The composition captures a moment of intense war action with extraordinary dynamism. At the center of the scene, a knight in a red jacket mounted on a white horse dominates the composition, leading the charge with an imperious gesture. Around him unfolds a frenetic melee of knights and infantry, with figures overlapping in the fury of the battle, while in the foreground lie the fallen, a stark testimony to the violence of combat.
Casanova’s skill is evident in his rendering of the horses in motion, with particular attention to the central horses, painted with anatomical mastery and a keen sense of movement. The artist distinguished himself for his ability to combine the realism of military chronicles with a Rococo taste for movement and decoration, in some ways anticipating the Romantic sensibility.
