Design for a Vignette Accompanying a Publication on the Greek Alphabet
1610–64
Medium
Pen and brown ink
Dimensions
2-3/4 x 8-3/4 in. (7.0 x 22.2 cm)
Classification
Drawings|Ornament & Architecture
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1952
Accession Number
52.570.223
Tags
Art Historical Context
Stefano della Bella (1610–1664), a masterful Italian draftsman and etcher active in Florence and Paris, created this delicate pen-and-brown-ink drawing as a design for a vignette—a small, ornate illustration—to accompany a publication on the Alphabet. Dating to the mid-17th century, it the Baroque era's fascination with classical antiquity, when scholars and artists revived ancient languages and motifs amid the Renaissance's lingering humanist spirit. Such vignettes often adorned title pages or chapter headings, merging scholarly text with decorative flair to elevate printed works. Della Bell...
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...