Stefano della Bella (18 May 1610 – 12 July 1664) was an Italian draughtsman and
printmaker
Printmaking is the process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand processed technique ...
known for
etching
Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other type ...
s of a great variety of subjects, including military and court scenes, landscapes, and lively genre scenes. He left 1052 prints, and several thousand drawings, but only one known painting. He was born and later died in
Florence
Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025.
Florence ...
,
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
.
Early life in Florence
Della Bella was born at
Florence
Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025.
Florence ...
to a family of artists, and was apprenticed to a
goldsmith
A goldsmith is a Metalworking, metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Modern goldsmiths mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, they have also made cutlery, silverware, platter (dishware), plat ...
,
[Chishholm 1911.] but became an engraver working briefly under
Orazio Vanni and then
Cesare Dandini.
[Massar 1996.] He studied etching under
Remigio Cantagallina, who had also been the instructor of
Jacques Callot
Jacques Callot (; – 1635) was a baroque printmaker and drawing, draftsman from the Duchy of Lorraine. He is an important person in the development of the old master print. He made more than 1,400 etchings that chronicled the life of his peri ...
.
[Massar 1968, p. 160.] Della Bella's early prints are very similar to those of Callot. When he was seventeen years of age, he presented an etching depicting a banquet in the Palazzo Pitti
The Palazzo Pitti (), in English sometimes called the Pitti Palace, is a vast, mainly Renaissance, palace in Florence, Italy. It is situated on the south side of the River Arno, a short distance from the Ponte Vecchio. The core of the present ...
to the young Giancarlo de' Medici
Giancarlo de' Medici (24 July 1611 – 22 January 1663) was an Italian cardinal of the House of Medici. He was the second son of Grand Duke Cosimo II of Tuscany and his wife, Maria Maddalena of Austria, and the brother of Ferdinando II de' Medi ...
following which della Bella would receive official commissions by the Medici
The House of Medici ( , ; ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first consolidated power in the Republic of Florence under Cosimo de' Medici and his grandson Lorenzo "the Magnificent" during the first half of the 15th ...
family. In 1630, at the age of twenty, he produced a manuscript copy from one of the many manuscript versions of Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 1452 - 2 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested o ...
's ''Trattato della Pittura
''A Treatise on Painting'' (''Trattato della pittura'') is a collection of Leonardo da Vinci's writings entered in his notebooks under the general heading "On Painting". The manuscripts were begun in Milan while Leonardo was under the service of ...
''. He illustrated his copy with about 50 sketches. Della Bella's copy was published in 1792 with "accurate engravings of all of his sketches." By 1632 or 1633 he was the recipient of direct patronage from Lorenzo de' Medici
Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici (), known as Lorenzo the Magnificent (; 1 January 1449 – 9 April 1492), was an Italian statesman, the ''de facto'' ruler of the Florentine Republic, and the most powerful patron of Renaissance culture in Italy. Lore ...
(brother to Cosimo II and uncle to Giancarlo de' Medici). At this time Della Bella requested from his patron permission to go to Rome "to perfect himself as an artist."
Work in Rome
Having arrived in Rome in 1633, della Bella lived and studied there for six years. He resided in the Medici Palace, producing ''vedute
A ''veduta'' (; : ''vedute'') is a highly detailed, usually large-scale painting or, more often, print of a cityscape or some other vista. The painters of ''vedute'' are referred to as ''vedutisti''.
Origins
This genre of landscape originated ...
'' and drawings of antiquities as well as crowded images of public occasions in a series of sketchbooks. Many of these images were later turned into prints. He also recorded and assisted the court festivities of the Medici. In this period della Bella's style developed from Mannerist
Mannerism is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, when the Baroque style largely replaced it ...
to Baroque
The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
. Della Bella created a series of six prints forming a long, 2.5-meter panel, showing the ''Polish Ambassador’s Ceremonial Entry into Rome in 1633''. He also created a number of prints of views of Rome. While living in Rome, he often returned to Florence working on commissions for his clients there.
File:Entrance of the Polish Legation into Rome, etching by Stefano della Bella - Met Museum of Art 1971 (adjusted).jpg, ''Entry of the Polish Ambassador to Rome'', 1633
Polish horseman Della Bella.jpg, ''Polish horseman'' etching
Paris and the return to Florence
In 1639, della Bella went to Paris and lived there until 1650. He adapted his style to French tastes, and was influenced by Rembrandt
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (; ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), mononymously known as Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and Drawing, draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in ...
and other Dutch print makers. Della Bella made trips to Holland and North Africa.
The majority of della Bella's prints date from the years in Paris; he had arrived four years after the death of Callot, and was already known to important French publishers. In 1641 Cardinal Richelieu
Armand Jean du Plessis, 1st Duke of Richelieu (9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), commonly known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a Catholic Church in France, French Catholic prelate and statesman who had an outsized influence in civil and religi ...
sent him to Arras
Arras ( , ; ; historical ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France; before the reorganization of 2014 it was in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The historic centre of the Artois region, with a ...
to make drawings for prints of the siege and taking of that town by the royal army, and in 1644 Cardinal Mazarin
Jules Mazarin (born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino or Mazarini; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), from 1641 known as Cardinal Mazarin, was an Italian Catholic prelate, diplomat and politician who served as the chief minister to the Kings of France Lou ...
commissioned four sets of educational playing cards for the young Louis XIV
LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
. His ornament prints were very innovative, seeming to look forward to the Rococo
Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...
.
Della Bella also engraved views of Paris, including a very large print of the Pont Neuf
The Pont Neuf (, "New Bridge") is the oldest standing bridge across the river Seine in Paris, France. It stands by the western (downstream) point of the Île de la Cité, the island in the middle of the river that was, between 250 and 225 BC, ...
, looking south from the entrance of the Place Dauphine
The Place Dauphine () is a public square located near the western end of the Île de la Cité in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, first arrondissement of Paris. It was initiated by Henry IV of France, Henry IV in 1607, the second of his projects ...
, with topographically accurate depictions of the buildings south of the bridge on the banks of the Seine
The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plat ...
, such as the Church of Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois
The Church of Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois () is a medieval Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Paris, Roman Catholic Church (building), church in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, directly across from the Louvre Palace. It was named for Saint Germanus of Au ...
, the Petit Bourbon and the Louvre Palace
The Louvre Palace (, ), often referred to simply as the Louvre, is an iconic French palace located on the Right Bank of the Seine in Paris, occupying a vast expanse of land between the Tuileries Gardens and the church of Saint-Germain l'Auxe ...
on the right bank
In geography, a bank is the land alongside a body of water.
Different structures are referred to as ''banks'' in different fields of geography.
In limnology (the study of inland waters), a stream bank or river bank is the terrain alongsid ...
and the Hôtel de Nevers, the Tour de Nesle
The Tour de Nesle () was one of the four large guard towers on the old city wall of Paris, constructed at the beginning of the 13th century by Philip II of France and demolished in 1665.
The tower was situated on the left (south) bank of the ...
, and in the distance, the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés
An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns.
The co ...
, on the left
Left may refer to:
Music
* ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006
* ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016
* ''Left'' (Helmet album), 2023
* "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996
Direction
* Left (direction), the relativ ...
. The road over the bridge and in front of the central platform with the statue of Henri IV is crowded with carriages, wagons, people, and animals. Among the 451 distinct figures are beggars, gypsies, hurdy-gurdy
The hurdy-gurdy is a string instrument that produces sound by a hand-turned crank, rosined wheel rubbing against the strings. The wheel functions much like a violin (or nyckelharpa) bow, and single notes played on the instrument sound similar ...
players, children and tooth-pullers, with horses, donkeys, dogs, and even a lamb.
File:La perspective du Pont neuf de Paris, engraving by Stefano della Bella - Gallica 2011 (adjusted).jpg, View of the Pont Neuf
The Pont Neuf (, "New Bridge") is the oldest standing bridge across the river Seine in Paris, France. It stands by the western (downstream) point of the Île de la Cité, the island in the middle of the river that was, between 250 and 225 BC, ...
, 1646
File:La perspective du Pont neuf de Paris, engraving by Stefano della Bella - Gallica 2011 (detail).jpg, Detail with figures
French anti-Italian feeling during the Fronde
The Fronde () was a series of civil wars in the Kingdom of France between 1648 and 1653, occurring in the midst of the Franco-Spanish War, which had begun in 1635. The government of the young King Louis XIV confronted the combined opposition ...
, and the death of Mazarin probably forced della Bella's return to Florence, where he obtained a pension from the grand duke, whose son, Cosimo III de' Medici
Cosimo III de' Medici (14 August 1642 – 31 October 1723) was Grand Duchy of Tuscany, Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1670 until his death in 1723, the sixth and penultimate from the House of Medici. He reigned from 1670 to 1723, and was the elder s ...
, he instructed in drawing.[ He continued to send plates to Paris publishers. Della Bella is known to have illustrated some discoveries for Galileo, and depicted Hansken the famous elephant, when dead. In his final years he produced a number of prints experimenting with tonal effects, though these were little known at the time; he had long made much use of wash in his drawings, and was now attempting with considerable success to achieve similar effects in etching, though only a few good impressions could be taken from the plate.][Reed 1989, p. 242; Massar 1996.] In 1661 he appears to have suffered a stroke, after which he produced little work.
Antonio Francesco Lucini was one of his pupils in Florence.
See also
* Decoration for a Thesis in Honor of Saint Francis Solano
Notes
Bibliography
*
* De Vesme, Alexandre (1906)
"Étienne Della Bella", pp. 66–79
an
"Oeuvre d'Étienne Della Bella", pp. 79–332"
in ''Le Peintre-Graveur italien'' (at Internet Archive). Milan: Ulrico Hoepli.
* Massar, Phyllis Dearborn (1968). "Presenting Stefano della Bella."'' The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin'', vol. 27 (New Series), no. 3 (November, 1968), pp. 159–176. . .
* Massar, Phyllis D. (1971). ''Stefano Della Bella, Catalogue Raisonné. Alexandre De Vesme with Introduction and Additions by Phyllis Dearborn Massar''. New York: Collectors Editions.
* Massar, Phyllis D. (1996). "Bella, Stefano della", vol. 3, pp. 631–634, in ''The Dictionary of Art
''Grove Art Online'' is the online edition of ''The Dictionary of Art'', often referred to as the ''Grove Dictionary of Art'', and part of Oxford Art Online, an internet gateway to online art reference publications of Oxford University Press, ...
'' (34 vols.), edited by Jane Turner. New York: Grove. . Also at Oxford Art Online
Oxford Art Online is an Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press ...
subscription required
(accessed 22 November 2010).
*Reed, Sue Welsh & Wallace, Richard, editors (1989). ''Italian Etchers of the Renaissance and Baroque'', Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. or 304-4 (pb)
External links
Works by Stefano della Bella at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Stefano della Bella Etchings
Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, Accession No. P830003. The collection includes four suites of etchings by Stefano della Bella, comprising 35 prints. Primarily decorative, they depict genre scenes of people and animals (in rural settings), fantastic vases, panels of grotesques, and the Medici Villa Demidoff and its gardens near Florence.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Della Bella, Stefano
1610 births
1664 deaths
Italian draughtsmen
Italian engravers
Italian war artists
Artists from Florence