A cow ascending a bank, a peasant woman leading two cows across a bridge in background, plate 9 from "Diversi capricci"
ca. 1644–47
Medium
Etching; third state of four
Dimensions
Sheet: 3 5/16 × 3 7/8 in. (8.4 × 9.8 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1917
Accession Number
17.50.17-212
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the intricate etching *A Cow Ascending a Bank, a Peasant Woman Leading Two Cows Across a Bridge in Background* (plate 9 from *Diversi capricci*), Stefano della Bella captures a whimsical pastoral moment from around 1644–47. Della Bella, a masterful Italian printmaker active in Florence and Paris, was renowned for his Baroque-era etchings that blended everyday rural life with imaginative flair. Published by Nicolas Langlois, this small sheet (just 3 5/16 × 3 7/8 in.) exemplifies the *capricci* series—playful vignettes of animals, peasants, and landscapes that delighted 17th-century collector...
About the Artist
Stefano della Bella|Nicolas Langlois · 1610–1664
Stefano della Bella (1610-1664) was one of the most prolific and versatile printmakers of the Italian Baroque period, leaving behind 1,052 prints and several thousand drawings that captured the vivid essence of 17th-century European life. Born in Florence on May 18, 1610, to a family of artists, he trained initially as a goldsmith before studying painting under Cesare Dandini and etching under Rem...