(Venice 1715–1786)
Two Hungarian hussars, a battle beyond; and
Two Hungarian hussars, one with a scimitar, a battle beyond,
oil on canvas, 73.4 x 55.5 cm and 73 x 55.8, framed, a pair (2)

Provenance:
acquired by the father of the present owner, Perugia, 1985

We are grateful to Dario Succi for suggesting the attribution of the present painting on the basis of a photograph.

Each of the two paintings depicts a pair of soldiers on horseback with a battle scene in the background. Judging by the peculiar type of headgear and the fur-trimmed jackets, they are identified as Hungarian hussars, wearing their typical attire around the middle of the 18th century. In particular, in this case it is about the generals’ style gala uniforms, composed by the characteristic tight-fitting dolman jacket, with a pendant pelisse jacket on top, and busby. One of the generals pulls out the typical hussar scimitar.

The crisp and snappy manner of painting clearly refers to the vedutism of the brothers Francesco, Gianantonio and Nicolò Guardi, in particular the younger, Nicolò, whose hand is recognisable in the way he treats the skies, which can be seen in several of his works in private collections. The attribution of the two paintings, previously thought to be works by his middle brother Francesco, reflects the complication of the battle theme, historically little analysed in the vast critical literature dedicated to the Guardi production (see G. Sestieri, I Battaglisti. La pittura di battaglia dal XVI al XVIII secolo, exhibition catalogue, Rome 2011, p. 98).

Rediscovered by Giuseppe Fiocco in the early 1990s, Nicolò Guardi was resolved and brought to greater attention by Dario Succi (Nicolò Guardi, le orme di un enigma, in: Francesco Guardi: itinerary of the artistic adventure, Cinisello Balsamo 1993, pp. 191–208; Nicolò Guardi, 1715-1786, the enigma solved, in: Francesco Guardi: Artistic Itinerary, vol. I, Milan 2021, pp. 396–425). The latter’s most recent studies reveal a new idea of Nicolò: no longer a pale imitator of his older brothers Francesco and Gianantonio, but the family’s most financially successful artist at the height of his career in the 1740s.

An alternative attribution to Francesco Simonini (Parma 1686 – after 1753 Venice or Florence) has been suggested for the present paintings.