Death on a Battlefield, from "The five deaths" (Les cinq Morts)
ca. 1646–47
Medium
Etching, third state of four
Dimensions
Plate: 8 11/16 × 11 13/16 in. (22 × 30 cm) Sheet: 11 1/8 × 14 1/8 in. (28.2 × 35.9 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Grace M. Pugh, 1985
Accession Number
1986.1180.643
Tags
Art Historical Context
Stefano della Bella, a 17th-century Italiancher renowned for his intricate Baroque compositions, created *Death on a Battlefield* around 1646–47 as part of his poignant series *The Five Deaths* (*Les cinq Morts*). primarily in Florence and Paris, della Bella drew inspiration from contemporaries like Jacques Callot, capturing the chaos of war and the inevitability of mortality amid the turmoil of Europe's Thirty Years' War era. This etching, in its third state of four, exemplifies the period's fascination with *memento mori*—reminders of death—blending dramatic realism with allegorical depth. ...
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...