Plate 11: Dogs, from "Various animals" (Diversi animali)
ca. 1641
Medium
Etching; third state of three (De Vesme)
Dimensions
Sheet (trimmed to plate): 3 3/8 × 4 1/4 in. (8.6 × 10.8 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Grace M. Pugh, 1985
Accession Number
1986.1180.597
Tags
Art Historical Context
Stefano della Bella, a 17th-century Italiancher renowned for his intricate Baroque prints, created *Plate 11: Dogs* around 1641 as part of his series *Various Animals* (*Diversi animali*). Working primarily in Florence under Medici patronage and later in Paris, della Bella captured the lively energy of the natural world in small-scale works like this one. This etching showcases a pair of alert dogs—likely hunting breeds—frozen in dynamic poses, reflecting the era's fascination with animal studies as both artistic exercises and symbols of nobility and the hunt. Etched on a modest sheet (3 3/8 ...
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...