DIRK STOOP (attr. to) (Utrecht, c. 1618 - c. 1686) Battle between Turkish and European cavalry Oil on canvas, 125X201 cm Provenance: Private collection Trained in his father's workshop, Stoop travelled to Italy in 1639 and then moved to Lisbon, where he became court painter to the Infanta Catherine of Portugal and, as such, accompanied her to England when she married King Charles II. In England he mainly painted battles, achieving considerable success, but it should be mentioned here that his hunting scenes and also genre scenes were highly appreciated, but there is no doubt that his best production is to be found in his cavalry clashes. We can deduce this illustrative propensity from the large canvas under examination, which brilliantly combines attention to detail with the naturalism with which the author describes the scene, which finds suitable comparisons with the works published by Sestieri. Reference bibliography: G. Sestieri, I pittori di battaglie, maestri italiani e stranieri del XVII e XVIII Secolo, Roma 1999, pp. 618-620