Battle Scene with a Roman Army Besieging a Large City

This painting shows a characteristic battle scene by the artist. The overall setting, in which a military commander and his entourage are depicted in the right foreground, with a mass of soldiers arranged in a circular arc attacking a fortified building in the left background, appears to have been a popular compositional formula for the artist. The battle represented here is not yet identified. Perhaps the scene represents the fall of Jerusalem to the Roman general Popeye (in late autumn 63 BC).

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 12 minutes):

Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber: The Battle, suite