Artwork
Cavalry Halted at a Sutler's Tent
Cavalry Halted at a Sutler's Tent is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Philips Wouwerman. It dates from 1655 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Ireland.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The composition features men and horses gathered near this temporary encampment, illustrating a moment of rest and logistical support rather than active combat.
Philips Wouwerman's 1655 oil painting depicts a cavalry unit paused during a journey, centered around a sutler's tent. The composition features men and horses gathered near this temporary encampment, illustrating a moment of rest and logistical support rather than active combat. As a landscape work, the piece focuses on the interaction between the soldiers, their mounts, and the civilian supplier within a natural setting.
The presence of the sutler highlights the often-overlooked commercial and supply aspects of military life in the seventeenth century, grounding the scene in the daily realities of campaign logistics.
Technique & Style
Created in 1655, Cavalry Halted at a Sutler's Tent is an oil painting executed by Philips Wouwerman. The work is classified as a landscape painting, depicting figures such as a man, a sutler, and horses within an outdoor setting. The physical support measures 35.8 cm in height and 41 cm in width. The piece was produced in Haarlem and is currently held by the National Gallery of Ireland.
History & Provenance
Cavalry Halted at a Sutler's Tent is an oil painting by Philips Wouwerman dated 1655, classified as a landscape and produced in Haarlem.
The work is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Ireland, where it remains part of the institution's holdings. No additional information about its commission, earlier ownership, or chain of custody prior to the National Gallery of Ireland is documented in the available sources.
The painting is held by the National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, where it is recorded as accessioned inventory.
It was included in the Gallery’s 2016 exhibition Wouwerman: Military Encampments and Hunting Scenes, held from 18 March to 19 June 2016, in which it was shown under its current title.
Legacy
Philips Wouwerman's 1655 work Cavalry Halted at a Sutler's Tent helped cement his reputation for vivid genre scenes within Dutch Golden Age landscape painting. The composition, showing a mounted soldier pausing at a makeshift supply tent, was frequently copied and adapted by 18th-century Dutch followers, influencing the narrative detail in later military genre works. Its presence in the National Gallery of Ireland has ensured continued public visibility, contributing to renewed scholarly interest in Wouwerman's role in shaping mid-17th-century depictions of camp life and social interaction.
Overview
Cavalry Halted at a Sutler's Tent is a 1655 oil painting by Philips Wouwerman, a Dutch artist known for his scenes of everyday life and battles.
Artist & collection
Artist
Philips Wouwerman (also Wouwermans) (24 May 1619 (baptized) – 19 May 1668) was a Dutch painter of hunting, landscape and battle scenes. He became prolific during the Dutch Golden Age and joined the Haarlem Guild of St. Luke.
