Artillery on Maneuver

George Hendrik Breitner's 'Artillery on Maneuver' (1901) is one of his military subjects — the artillery as the industrial-age arm of modern warfare, the heavy guns and their supporting wagons creating a subject of mechanical power that contrasted with the more visually traditional subjects of his cavalry paintings. Breitner's engagement with both cavalry and artillery showed his interest in the full range of modern Dutch military life as a subject for his direct, documentary approach to contemporary life.

Breitner renders the artillery in maneuver with his characteristic direct observation and summary handling — the guns, wagons, horses, and soldiers of the artillery train depicted with the economy of direct observational practice. His handling of the movement and effort involved in moving heavy artillery across the field creates the subject's physical energy. The broad Dutch landscape setting provides the spatial context for the military exercise.