Persée et Andromede
Medium
Etching, state i
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Robert Hartshorne, 1918
Accession Number
18.48.2-7
Tags
Art Historical Context
This etching, created in 1644 by the Italian artist Stefano della Bella, captures the dramatic rescue of Andromeda by the hero Perseus from a fearsome sea monster. A master of the Baroque period, della Bella was renowned for his lively and intricate printmaking, often blending mythological themes with dynamic compositions. The work was produced in collaboration with French writer Jean Desmarets de Saint-Sorlin and publisher Henri Le Gras, reflecting the cultural exchanges between Italy and the French court under the young Louis XIV and Cardinal Mazarin. Etching, the medium employed here in it...
About the Artist
Stefano della Bella|Jean Desmarets de Saint-Sorlin|Henri Le Gras|Louis XIV, King of France|Cardinal Jules Mazarin · 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...