A Look into the Historiography of Art in the Thirty Years War

This depiction by the Spanish Diego Valázquez of the Surrender of Breda demonstrates several different ideals about the Thirty Years War that perhaps correlated with his own perspective. Firstly, this depictions shows absolutely no violence whatsoever. We know from numerous other accounts that the Thirty Years War was quite a blood bath. Also, he depicts the humiliating submission of the Dutch to the powerful (and perhaps even merciful) Spanish.

The second painting by the Flemish artists Jan Brueghel and Sebastien Vrancx depicts one of the battles among the many of the Thirty Years War. Probably more accurate to the general feeling behind the War than the previous painting, this depiction shows quite a degree of chaos and bloodshed. Also, the painters were able to interpret the vastness of the war through the landscape and sense of it "going off into the distance".