Cavalry Engagement

This signed and dated painting is an early work that already reveals the mastership of the young Asselyn, who is rightly considered one of the most important landscapists active during the first half of the 17th century. The natural environment and the topographical situation are suppressed here in favour of the battle scene. Asselyn assigns to the spectator the role of an eyewitness amidst the Netherlandish Wars of Independence. Later on, the artist became famous for his landscapes of the Campagna, which date from his sojourn in Italy.