Stefano Della Bella (1610-1664) - Lot. of 3 sheets Diverses figures et griffonnements, titolo in descrizione

https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_X-5-231
https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1871-0513-253
https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1849-0421-255

a. "Landscape with a large tree and a horseman passing by" (85x67 mm)
b. "Horseman near a watering trough" (72x80 mm)
c. "Jack of Spades; Bacchus in [...]; from a deck of 52 playing cards with mythological subjects" (48x53 mm)

Technique: Etching, finished with a burin;
Condition: Excellent inking, in good condition with slight traces of foxing and browning. The paper shows a light, natural age-related browning; minimal margins; trace of adhesive where it was attached to a mount, but the print itself is unmounted; all as shown in the photos;
Support: Laid paper with clearly visible chain lines;
Shipping: INSURED shipping via Bartolini/DPD/courier service. To benefit from the insurance coverage, any damage to the parcel must be reported to the courier at the time of delivery. Otherwise, it will not be possible to initiate the insurance reimbursement process.
Provenance: From a private collection;

Stefano Della Bella (Florence, May 18, 1610 – Florence, July 12, 1664) was an Italian printmaker.

Born into a family of painters, sculptors, and goldsmiths, and orphaned at an early age when his father, a sculptor, died, he first pursued goldsmithing, studying under Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione and Gasparo Mola, before turning his attention to drawing and printmaking. He soon began drawing figures and copying Jacques Callot’s etchings, which inspired his early works.

Under the patronage of the Medici, particularly Don Lorenzo, the younger son of Grand Duke Ferdinando I, Della Bella had the opportunity to travel to Rome to study, staying there from 1633 to 1636. In Rome he met French printmakers and print publishers such as Israël Henriet and François Langlois, who greatly influenced his decision to move to Paris in 1639, four years after Callot’s death.

In Paris, he soon achieved social as well as artistic success, thanks to the engravings commissioned by Cardinal Richelieu. He frequented courtiers, theater artists, and writers, while declining honors that were too burdensome. This was the time of the Thirty Years’ War, some episodes of which he documented, including the Siege of Arras.

Between 1644 and 1645, he undertook a sea voyage along the Tyrrhenian and Ionian coasts as far as Egypt, and witnessed the naval clash between the galleys of the Order of Malta and the Turkish fleet off Rhodes on September 28, 1644.

In 1646–47, he traveled to Holland, setting sail from Calais, which he depicted in some of his prints. He stopped in Amsterdam, Antwerp, and Dordrecht. A meeting with Rembrandt has been conjectured, though it is undocumented; Stefano della Bella owned several of Rembrandt’s prints.

His love of nature is expressed in lively little pictures: his prints of animals and landscapes reveal a spirited, imaginative style, by then independent of his inspiration, Callot. He also studied the human figure, and new subjects flourished: topographical maps, capricci, or character scenes, decorative work (friezes and ornaments), and military subjects.

Returning to Florence in 1650, he resumed his work under the patronage of the Medici court, producing works for his patrons: title pages, illustrations of festivities, and views celebrating Medici splendor. In 1656 he became a member of the Accademia degli Apatisti. He traveled to Rome several times, where he created some views of ancient ruins; meanwhile, he continued sending engraved plates and prints to his publishers in Paris.

Stefano Della Bella left us more than a thousand prints.