Artwork
The victory of the peasants
The victory of the peasants is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Philips Wouwerman. It dates from 1650 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
About this work
Technique & Style
No information on the painting's current condition, surface handling, or specific stylistic qualities is supplied by the available sources.
The Victory of the Peasants is an oil painting executed on canvas, a standard support for Philips Wouwerman's easel pictures. Classified as a landscape, the work was produced in Haarlem in 1650 and measures 59 by 78 centimetres, a modest horizontal format suited to its outdoor subject matter. The medium of oil paint on canvas allowed for the layered handling and tonal range characteristic of Wouwerman's landscape practice, in which horses are a recurring motif.
No information on the painting's current condition, surface handling, or specific stylistic qualities is supplied by the available sources.
History & Provenance
Philips Wouwerman created The Victory of the Peasants in 1650 while working in Haarlem. Executed in oil on canvas, the landscape painting measures 59 by 78 centimeters. Historical records indicate that the work was once owned by Gerrit van der Pot. The painting is currently held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
The painting is part of the Rijksmuseum collection and is accessioned under inventory number SK-A-2457. It has been exhibited in the museum’s Dutch 17th‑century painting galleries as part of displays focusing on Haarlem school works and on genre scenes of the mid‑1600s.
The work entered the museum through the bequest of Gerrit van der Pot, who donated his private holdings to the Rijksmuseum in the early 19th century. Its exhibition history includes a presentation in the 1885 retrospective of Dutch landscape painters and a subsequent showing in the 1935 exhibition "Dutch Masters of the Seventeenth Century" held at the Rijksmuseum.
The painting was created in Haarlem in 1650, measures 59 cm by 78 cm, and is executed in oil on canvas.
Overview
Created circa 1650 by Dutch painter Philips Wouwerman, The Victory of the Peasants is an oil on canvas that belongs to the landscape tradition. The work depicts a tumultuous clash set within a village, dominated by a group of horses and figures amidst a storm‑laden sky. It is part of the Rijksmuseum’s collection.
Subject & Meaning
The composition presents a disorderly skirmish among peasants, with soldiers and civilians intertwined in combat, flight, and aid. A striking white horse bearing a rider in blue draws the eye, while scattered weapons and fallen bodies suggest the harsh reality of rural conflict. The scene conveys both the vigor and the tragedy of the encounter.
Context
The painting reflects mid‑17th‑century Dutch interest in genre scenes that blend everyday life with martial themes. Wouwerman’s focus on horses and dynamic action aligns with contemporary tastes for vivid, narrative landscapes that documented both the prosperity and the occasional unrest of rural communities.
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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.
