The Capture of Hai by Joshua

For the last twenty years the series of six biblical scenes to which this canvas belongs has been attributed to the circle of Juan de la Corte (grandfather of Gabriel, the celebrated flower painter). Documented as a painter active in Madrid in 1613, a series of works dated between 1623 and 1642 are known by his hand. De la Corte failed to become Court Painter in 1627 as this place was not filled, while in 1638 he paid the highest amount of any Madrid painter to the tax authorities for his sold works. Numerous signed and unsigned works of varying quality produced by De la Corte’s studio are known. There are surviving series on the Trojan War and the Victories of Charles V while documentary evidence indicates the presence of around 40 works in the Buen Retiro Palace and the Alcázar in Madrid on biblical, mythological and historical subjects and landscapes.

Identifying the episode depicted here is not entirely straightforward, but the presence of a rider in the centre with his arm outstretched holding what seems to be a short spear suggests Joshua and story of the Israelites who entered the city of Hai in order to attack it on seeing his signal (Joshua 8). Once again the composition is based on a group of standing and mounted warriors that occupy the foreground and a crowd of tiny figures in the background. The city of Hai is depicted in the usual conventionalised rather than realistic manner characteristic of this artist and his assistants. Also typical is the arrangement of flags and pikes at an angle, which convey movement as do various galloping horses.