Study for The Battle of Waterloo

Study for The Battle of Waterloo

Jan Willem Pieneman

Details

Medium
zwart krijt
Dimensions
height 299 mm x width 483 mm
Holding institution
Rijksmuseum
Image provider
rijksmuseum
License
Public Domain
Credit
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Art Genome Taxonomy

10 tags

Subject Matter

  • Conflict Both · 99%

    The title identifies the Battle of Waterloo, and the image visibly depicts armed soldiers, artillery, horses, and casualties in combat.

  • War and Military Both · 99%

    Uniformed or helmeted soldiers, weapons, a cannon, mounted action, and fallen figures are clearly visible; the catalog title identifies a battle.

  • Equestrian Visual · 98%

    Horses are prominent in the composition, including a large rearing or falling horse in the upper-right and another horse among the central figures.

  • Movement Visual · 96%

    Rearing and falling horses, extended limbs, raised weapons, and intersecting diagonal gestures create a pronounced sense of physical motion.

  • Implied Narrative Both · 93%

    The title names a specific historical event, while the depicted interactions among soldiers, artillery, horses, and fallen figures form an eventful scene rather than a static arrangement.

Visual Qualities

  • Dense Composition Visual · 91%

    The principal group contains numerous overlapping figures, horses, weapons, and artillery, producing concentrated areas of visual activity despite the open lower-right portion of the sheet.

Medium and Techniques

  • Drawing Both · 99%

    The catalog classifies the work as a drawing, and the image visibly consists of black-chalk lines and shading on a sheet.

  • Work on Paper Visual · 97%

    The image shows marks made on a distinct sheet of paper; the Rijksmuseum classifies the object as a drawing and records its medium as black chalk.

Time Periods

  • 19th Century Art Metadata · 99%

    The work is dated circa 1824, placing it in the nineteenth century.

Materials

  • Chalk Metadata · 99%

    The catalogued medium is “zwart krijt,” meaning black chalk.

Source & rights

Jan Willem Pieneman. Study for The Battle of Waterloo. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.