A Battle
- Artist: Italian, North
- Date: probably 1530s
- Medium: oil on wood
- Museum: The National Gallery
- Collection record: The National Gallery website
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About this artwork
This is "A Battle" painted in the Italian north. The picture may be a later copy of one of the lost frescoes by Piero della Francesca in the ducal palace in Ferrara, but we're not entirely sure. There's a figure on a white horse in the foreground that seems to be playing a leading part, although we don't know which battle is represented.
You might notice Leonello d'Este at the bottom left, portrayed in profile, suggesting he may have commissioned the frescoes. This was common practice at the time for patrons to be included in paintings. The costumes in the painting point to a date in the 1530s, but other details seem to reflect an earlier style.
There's actually another possibly related battle scene in the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, which is of a similar size but lesser quality than this one. Both paintings have hand-to-hand combats with closely interwoven figures of men and horses, featuring fifteenth-century elements alongside sixteenth-century stylistic influences.
The central figure on the white horse and the group of warriors in the middle distance show similarities to Piero della Francesca's style, but it's also been suggested that these paintings may have represented scenes of ancient history or exploits of the house of Este associated with chivalric legends.
See it in person
A Battle hangs in The National Gallery on Trafalgar Square, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
