Landscape with Plundering Soldiers

A watercolour on paper by Lucas Valckenborch with the same composition is known (An extensive landscape with plundering soldiers (1577), NY, The New York Historical Society, acc. No. 1867, 205, see A. Wied, Lucas und Marten Van Valckenborch, Luca Verlag 1990, p. 144, cat. no. 29). A very similar version by Valckenborgh is in the museum in Brussels (Landscape with inn and windmill, KMSK Brussels, inv. no. 4250). Both in style and subject matter, the painter was greatly inspired by Pieter Brueghel the Elder, whose work he had access to in Brussels, as mentioned by Wied. Typical features include the detailed rendering of foliage and rocks in a so-called ‘worldly environment’, which sometimes has echoes of reality.

Lucas (Van) Valckenborch was born in Leuven (or the surrounding area) into a family of artists. The Van Valckenborch family produced several painters; his brother Marten van Valckenborch and his son Frederik van Valckenborch also became well-known artists. This indicates a strong family workshop connection, which was common at the time. Due to religious and political unrest in the Netherlands, particularly the Iconoclastic Fury and the Eighty Years' War, Lucas left his native region. Like many other artists, he sought safety and work outside the Southern Netherlands.

Lucas worked successively in various cities, including Mechelen, Antwerp, and later in the German Empire. He was active for some time in Linz, where he entered the service of Archduke Matthias of Austria, who later became Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Through this court, Lucas came into contact with the international court culture of Central Europe. Towards the end of his life, he settled in Frankfurt am Main, where he died in 1597.

Oil on panel, 26,5 x 36 cm