Donkeys, plate 24 from "Various Animals" (Diversi Animali)

Art Historical Context

Stefano della Bella’s “Donkeys,” plate 24 from the series *Diversi Animali (Various Animals), offers charming glimpse into seventeenth-century Italian printmaking. Created around 1641, this small etching captures two donkeys in a simple, naturalistic pose, highlighting della Bella’s keen observation of animal life. The Florentine artist, celebrated for his lively and precise etchings, produced the series as part of a larger exploration of the animal kingdom, reflecting the period’s growing interest in natural history and everyday subjects. Printed on a modest plate measuring just over three by four inches, the work demonstrates the intimate scale often favored in della Bella’s animal studies. As the second state of three, it reveals the artist’s careful revisions to refine details and composition. Published in connection with Pierre Mariette, a prominent Parisian print dealer, the etching helped disseminate these accessible images across Europe, making fine art available to a wider audience beyond courtly collectors. Today housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Department of Drawings and Prints, this delicate impression—acquired in 1917—reminds viewers of the enduring appeal of humble subjects rendered with technical mastery. Its modest size and focused subject invite close looking, rewarding the viewer with della Bella’s subtle command of line and texture.

About the Artist

Stefano della Bella|Pierre Mariette · 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...