An example of these skills can be seen in the "Battle scene with infantry, cavalry and cannon, a fortress and a city beyond" (At Christie's on 7 July 2009 in London, lot 27). In this composition Jacques Courtois has created dramatic tension by placing the key dramatic event - the hand to hand combat and tumbling of some soldiers - in the foreground in the left corner. The viewer is thus brought closer to the picture plane and the action developing in the background. The confusion of battle is expressed through the whirlwind of men and horses, which occupy a limited, closed space. The sharply receding cloudscape adds a sense of nobility to the dramatic action depicted below.