The Vanity of Arms (Allegory of War) (Primary Title)
Weapons and Accoutrements of War in a Battlefield, a River and a Church on a Hill Beyond (Former Title)
Jan van Kessel, Flemish, 1626 - 1679 (Artist)
This allegorical composition evokes the devastation
of a battle and its aftermath. Ornate armor and stateof-the-art weapons are scattered across the foreground.
These remnants of military conflict, now abandoned
and useless, are reminders of soldiers who died in battle.
Three carefree sparrows hover above the trifles of vain
human concern. Salamanders, long thought to withstand the destructive forces of fire, emerge to rummage
around the former battleground. These blameless
creatures create an effective counterpoint to the tumult
of the invading forces attacking the church in the scene’s
background. The artist intended to depict the City of
God besieged by human violence. As a former captain
of Antwerp’s civic guard, Van Kessel was no stranger
to the ruthless realities of warfare. In this painting,
he reveals the ultimately futile, life-negating aspect
of violent conquest.
The Jordan and Thomas A. Saunders III Collection
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