A man at left in profile giving a handful of hay to a horse at center, a horseman to the right in background
ca. 1662
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet: 3 1/4 x 4 1/2 in. (8.3 x 11.5 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Phyllis Massar, 2011
Accession Number
2012.136.812
Tags
Art Historical Context
In this delicate etching from around 1662, Stefano Bella captures a serene equestrian moment: a man in profile at left offers a handful of hay to a noble horse at center, while a distant horseman recedes into the background at right. Measuring just 3¼ x 4½ inches, the intimate scale invites close viewing, revealing the artist's masterful command of line and texture on a modest sheet of paper. Della Bella, a leading 17th-century Italianmaker active in Florence and Paris, was renowned for his intricate etchings of animals, landscapes, and daily life, influenced by masters like Jacques Callot an...
About the Artist
Stefano della Bella · 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...