Orpheus and Eurydice, from 'Game of Mythology' (Jeu de la Mythologie)
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet: 1 13/16 x 2 1/4 in. (4.6 x 5.7 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Phyllis Massar, 2011
Accession Number
2012.136.811.20
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate etching by Stefano della Bella, created in 1644, belongs to his series “Jeu de la Mythologie,” a set of small prints designed as playing cards or an educational game. Measuring just under two by two-and-a-quarter inches, the work captures the tragic Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice in a format that could be held in the hand, making classical stories portable and accessible to a wide audience in seventeenth-century Europe. Della Bella’s mastery of etching is evident in the fine, expressive lines that convey both movement and emotion within such a tiny frame. The medium allowed ...
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...