The Combat between 'Lekkerbeetje' and de Bréauté c.1610-47
Oil on panel | 79.8 x 133.0 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external) | RCIN 405525
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During the Eighty Years War a Frenchman fighting for the Dutch, Charles de Bréauté, insulted the commander of the Spanish garrison at ‘s-Hertogenbosch (Bois-le-Duc), Anthonie Schets van Grobbendonck. The two decided to settle the matter with an equivalent of single combat but involving twenty a side, which took place on 5 February 1600 on a heath near Vugterheide. Grobbendonck annoyed de Bréauté by sending a deputy in his stead, one Gerard Abrahams van Houwelingen (known as ‘Lekkerbeetje’ which translates as ‘tasty morsel’ perhaps indicating that he was something of a snacker). Both Lekkerbeetje and de Bréauté were killed, but the Spanish were deemed to have won.
This throw-back to the age of chivalry was frequently painted; this example was attributed to Vrancx in the time of Charles I but is more likely to be by his imitator, Jacques van der Wyhen (c. 1588-after 1658).
The painting appears in Pyne's illustrated 'Royal Residences' of 1819, hanging in The Queen's Closet at Kensington Palace (RCIN 922154).Provenance
Recorded in the collection of Charles I (his brand appears on the back); this must be one of the three paintings of this subject in the Commonwealth sale - one sold for £20 to Stone and others on 23 October 1651 from Hampton Court (no 186); one sold for £16 from Oatlands to Emanuel de Critz and others on 18 November 1651 (no 9) and one for £6 from Somerset House to Jones on 9 November 1649 (no 146); recovered at the Restoration and listed in the room called 'Paradise' at Hampton Court in 1666 (no 94)
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Creator(s)
Previously attributed to (artist)Acquirer(s)
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Medium and techniques
Oil on panel
Measurements
79.8 x 133.0 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external)
98.6 x 151.4 x 5.4 cm (frame, external)
Category
Object type(s)
Other number(s)
Alternative title(s)
The Battle between Leckerbeetje and Breuate, Vughterheide, 5 February 1600
The Combat between 'Lekkerbeete' and de Bréauté
The Battle of the Forty