A soldier on horseback, holding a musket in his right hand, in profile descending a slope towards the right, other soldiers on horseback to right in the background, plate 12 from "Various Figures" (Agréable diversité de figures)
Medium
Engraving; state unknown (clipped impression)
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 5/8 × 3 7/8 in. (6.7 × 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
17.50.17-288
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold this dynamic engraving, *A soldier on horseback, holding musket in his right, in profile descending a towards the right*, plate 12 from Stefano della Bella's series * Figures* (*Agréable diversité de*), created in 1642. The Italian master printmaker, known for his intricate equestrian and military scenes, captures a lone cavalryman charging forward, musket at the ready, with fellow soldiers receding into the background. This petite sheet (just 2⅝ × 3⅞ inches) exemplifies the exquisite detail possible in engraving, a technique della Bella refined during his time in Paris, where he collab...
About the Artist
Stefano della Bella|Claude Goyrand|Israël Henriet|Artus Gouffier Marquis de Boissy · 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...