In a hilly landscape with rocky outcrops, a cavalry skirmish takes place. The view is taken from the high-ground, overlooking a panoramic landscape. Situated on a hilltop in the middle distance, is a fortified castle that dominates the surrounding area. Beyond, lies a hazy plain and blue mountains, extending into the far distance. The morning sky permeates the whole scene with a silvery light. In the foreground, soldiers on horseback, brandishing swords and guns, clash at close quarters. There is a flash of light and puff of smoke as one of the combatants discharges his pistol. A crumpled figure lies dead or injured on the ground. Other cavalrymen charge off in pursuit of the enemy and descend at full gallop into the valley below. Terrified figures flee on foot in all directions.

Although there is no proof that Frederick de Moucheron ever went to Italy, his landscapes were clearly influenced by the work of the second-generation of Dutch Italianates, such as Jan Asselijn, his alleged teacher, Jan Both and Adam Pynacker. Broadly speaking, his work falls into two categories: imaginary views of the Italian campagna and depictions of park-like settings with garden architecture. He produced both cabinet-size paintings and large-scale wall paintings, designed as part of a decorative room scheme. Johannes Lingelbach, Adriaen van de Velde and Nicolaes Berchem, among others, frequently added staffage to his paintings. In addition, Moucheron and Berchem collaborated on the completion group of paintings, left unfinished by Willem Schellinks at the time of his death in 1678. As dated works are scare, the chronology of Moucheron’s paintings and drawings is hard to establish.

This painting is a fine and characteristic example of Moucheron’s work. The lively figures are reminiscent of the early battle scenes of Jan Asselyn and those by Philips Wouwerman: Asselyn’s influence is also evident in the handling of panoramic vistas and one can detect the artist’s admiration for the paintings of Jan Both. Although these influences of the second-generation Italianates are discernible, the painting is lighter and more decorative than anything in their oeuvre, with its paler palette and softer, more atmospheric scenery. Also typical of Moucheron’s style, is the feathery foliage and silvery light effects.

After 1670, Moucheron adopted an increasingly decorative manner in his views of elegant park-like scenery, in which nature is shaped by man. In works of this kind, Frederick de Moucheron paved the way for the idealised landscapes of the third-generation of Dutch Italianates, including those of his son, Isaac de Moucheron and Johannes Glauber, who took their cue from classical landscapists working in Rome, above all, Poussin, Claude and Gaspard Dughet.

The son of French Huguenots, Frederick de Moucheron was born in Emden, Germany, in 1633. The family subsequently settled in Amsterdam, where according to Houbraken, Frederick became a pupil of Jan Asselyn, sometime before the latter’s death in 1652. Following his training, de Moucheron travelled to France in 1655-1656, making a trip to Lyon and Grenoble via Paris. It is possible that he may also have visited Italy at this time, although there is no firm evidence for such a trip. In the 1650s, he also lived for a period in Antwerp, before returning to Amsterdam. In July 1659, he married Marieke de Jouderville, daughter of the painter Isaac de Jouderville, in Leyden, but apparently continued to reside in Amsterdam. Between 1660 and 1678 twelve of the couple’s offspring were baptised in the city. Moucheron’s son and pupil, Isaac de Moucheron (1667/70-1744) became a painter and an architect, as well as a designer of formal gardens. Apart from a trip to Rotterdam in 1671, where he acted as a middleman in several art sales, de Moucheron spent the rest of his life in Amsterdam, where he died and was buried on 5 January, 1686.

P.M.