Antonio Calza

Antonio Calza (Verona, 1653 – April 18, 1725) Battle between Christian and Turkish cavalry with castle Oil on canvas, 95 x 129 cm Price: private negotiation Item accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and expertise (downloadable at the bottom of the page) The painting depicts a bloody battle between Christian and Turkish cavalry. Characterized by dynamism, intensity of color and light, the main scene occupies the lower horizontal section of the canvas, optically interrupted by black smoke from gunshots, from which, on the left, emerge the towers of a fortress. On the right, in the distance, the ongoing combat can be seen in the countryside, beyond which the pale presence of heights creates a backdrop, marking the horizon. Framing the scene on the left, in backlight and in the foreground, is a portion of a large wall. However, the painter introduces a horse on the ground of which we see only the posterior part, a trick to involve the observer, making them active and participating in the scene. In the foreground, lifeless bodies, wounded horses, and, scattered on the ground, weapons and a drum enhance the drama of the clash. The excitement and expressive force, the intense chromatic range attentive to light conditions, and the fine, decisive and dramatic brushstroke, suggest the attribution to Antonio Calza, one of the most important battle painters of the 17th century, an excellent student and continuator of the greatest interpreter of the genre, Jacques Courtois known as Borgognone (Saint-Hyppolite 1621 – Rome 1676). Borgognone, although not having had a real school or direct students, is a primary point of reference for Italian and foreign "battle painters". The genre of battle painting enjoyed great success in the collections of Italian and European nobility in the 17th and 18th centuries. The battles of the Italian Renaissance, in which the scene converged towards a precise protagonist, evolved towards a type of combat "without a hero". The bloody realism of the details and the dynamic development of the narration confuse the figure of the protagonist, when present, to give importance to the whirlwind of horses and armed fighters, among whom, moreover, a winner does not emerge. Reliable documents relating to the life and movements of Antonio Calza are scarce; it has been equally difficult for critics to reconstruct a catalog of autograph works. Through paintings present in private collections, in museums and paintings that have passed on the antiquarian market, it has been possible to identify a copious corpus of works that can be traced back to his hand. The work of art historians, together with that of antique dealers, in conferring correct attributions in order to better delineate the figure of Calza, continues but studies are still underway. In this sense, the work of Giancarlo Sestieri should certainly be noted, who has investigated the artistic production of battle painters and Calza, thus allowing, with the comparison of the numerous photographic works reported, to identify and recognize the stylistic qualities that distinguish the corpus of paintings assigned to him today. Antonio Calza was born in 1653 in Verona and in 1664 he entered, in Bologna, the school of Carlo Cignani, dedicating himself to painting battles and landscapes. He later perfected himself in Rome, where he became familiar with the works of the then undisputed leader of the sector, Jacques Courtois known as Borgognone. In 1675 he returned to Verona and married an 88-year-old widow who, upon dying, left him a rich inheritance. Highly appreciated by the nobility and the bourgeoisie, he received numerous commissions. Bartolomeo Dal Pozzo (Le Vite de' pittori, de gli scultori et architetti veronesi, 1718) praises "three large paintings of battles and landscapes" in the Allegri house and, at "Rizzardi sul Corso", four large landscapes, all of which have been lost. Following an involuntary homicide, Calza took refuge in Bologna, where he embarked on a flattering career. Among the works that earned him the greatest fame are some portraits, also lost. Here he remarried, but soon became a widower again. In 1706 he was in Venice, where in 1708 he married his third wife, Angiola Agnese Pakman, a Flemish painter of flowers, fruit and animals, who became his collaborator. After 1710 he was in Milan, where he painted, assisted by two students, for the Austrian general Martini, "a painting of immense size", depicting The Battle of Turin. Called in 1714 by Prince Eugene of Savoy to Vienna, he painted for him a Capture of Belgrade, "a portrait of that Prince on horseback with a battle in the background" (Dal Pozzo), and another again, also equestrian, of the emperor with a hunting scene. There is no trace of these works either. He died in Verona, where he was able to return following the absolution of his guilt, on April 18, 1725. Through the continuous increase of his catalog, this master has regained a position of prestige in the pictorial panorama of the battle genre. Calza, from the outset, while assimilating Borgognone's lesson, developed a personal style, based primarily on his unmistakable lively and bright chromatism, characterized by strident reds and blues, and on his casual figurative freedom. His material drafting is rapid and immediate, often with subsequent refinements. The work under examination presents the peculiar stylistic characteristics of Calza's painting. The canvas also finds several possible comparisons with works belonging to his corpus, in which it is possible to identify recurring figures and details also present in the canvas in question. Among these, certainly significant are the frequent towers that contribute to setting the composition and that, together with clouds and black smoke, create a sort of backdrop, a scenic presence, around the space of the conflict. Likewise, the lifeless fallen that the painter depicts in his clashes in the foreground are comparable to the subject present in the canvas in question. The bodies are positioned lying forward, the lifeless arms let the weapons fall and a turban rolls next to the body. A detail is often present in Calza's paintings: a drum, placed in the foreground, overturned and abandoned. The vast number of works in which this is described, as a signature of the painter, and the stylistic similarities already analyzed, convince the attribution of the work to Antonio Calza. Carlotta Venegoni