Spanish school; early 18th century.
"Scene from the battle of Almansa".
Oil on canvas.
It has repainting and restorations.
Measurements: 88,5 x 127 cm; 101 x 139 cm (frame).
In this work the author presents a war scene, referring to the battle of Almansa that took place on the 25th of April 1707, in the proximities of the same port in Albacete. The uniforms of the main characters in the foreground invite us to think of this battle, which pitted the Bourbon dynasty represented by Philip V against the Habsburgs, supporters of Archduke Charles, in the War of Succession for the Spanish Crown. The scene depicts the moment when the Duke of Berwick, who led the Bourbon forces, orders his generals to attack. The image is completed with a panoramic view of the battlefield, in which the forces or battalions are arranged in order of combat, organised by the artist almost through a strict symmetry, which helps the viewer to conceive a scene in which the profusion of characters and the expressiveness of the theme stand out.
With regard to the aesthetics of the work, it should be noted that the Museo del Prado in Madrid has a similar work by Buonaventura Ligli in its collection, in which a similar theme and composition can be seen. Buonaventura Ligli was a Neapolitan painter who came to Spain brought by the Duke of Béjar, for whom he worked for many years on the decoration of his palaces, producing murals and numerous paintings. This work attributed to Buonaventura Ligli must have come from those he painted for the Duke in Béjar, a collection that was later dispersed. The provenance is from a German collection.