Battery of cannons firing on a city, plate 6 from "Various Military Caprices" (Varii capricci militari)
Medium
Etching; second state of four
Dimensions
Sheet (trimmed to plate): 3 1/2 × 5 9/16 in. (8.9 × 14.2 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1917
Accession Number
17.50.17-275
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the midst of Europe's tumultuous Thirty Years' War, Italian etcher Stefano della Bella captured the chaos of battle in *Battery Cannons Firing on a City*, plate 6 from his series *Various Military Caprices* (i capricci militari), 1641. This print depicts a furious artillery barrage, with cannons belching smoke and flames toward a distant cityscape, surrounded by soldiers in period attire. Della Bella, renowned for his intricate Baroque etchings, infused these "caprices"—whimsical yet vivid military fantasies—with dramatic energy, blending historical realism with imaginative flair. Etched o...
About the Artist
Stefano della Bella|Pierre Mariette le fils · 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...