Jan Martszen the Younger Haarlem circa 1609 - after 1647

The date on this picture has in the past been read as 1641, but it clearly reads 1629, making this an early work, painted when the artist was only twenty.  Jan Martszen appears here to have been strongly influenced by his uncle Esaias van de Velde (1587-1630), who was presumably his teacher, and this picture is consistent in style with the older Haarlem artist's military paintings of the late 1620s, as it is with Martszen's own work at this date. Martszen also followed Van de Velde in choosing the oval format for several of his cavalry scenes.