Battle Scenery 1646 - 1711

Johann Philipp Lemke’s “Battle Scenery” is painted in oil on canvas, a fine art tradition. The monochrome of the painting creates a sense of depth in the artwork. Lemke was a specialist in battle scenes, and he would have been aware that his patrons were as interested in displays of skill as in accurate depictions. Look closely and you can see, Lemke’s approach emphasizes the chaos and energy of conflict. This is most visible in the composition, and the sweeping brushstrokes, which emphasize movement. Yet this is all carefully controlled. The process of building up the image, layer by layer, allowed the artist to create a convincing illusion of depth, and to model the forms of the horses and riders with apparent ease. The very subject is a kind of craft, too. It is a professionalized, almost industrial, type of violence. This may make you think about the economics of warfare then and now. While Lemke’s patron might have seen this as a celebration of military prowess, we can also appreciate it as a document of labor in its most extreme form.