Plate 6: head of an old bearded soldier wearing a helmet facing right, from 'Various heads and figures' (Diverses têtes et figures)
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet: 3 5/16 x 2 7/16 in. (8.4 x 6.2 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Phyllis Massar, 2011
Accession Number
2012.136.807.6
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate etching by Stefano della Bella, published in 1650 by Israël Henriet, captures the weathered face of an elderly soldier in profile. Plate 6 from the series *Diverses têtes et figures* (Various Heads and Figures) shows the man in a crested helmet, his beard and lined features rendered with remarkable economy. Measuring just over three inches tall, the print exemplifies della Bella’s skill at distilling character and age into a compact, expressive image. Working in the Baroque period, della Bella produced thousands of etchings that blended observation with lively imagination. Etchi...
About the Artist
Stefano della Bella|Israël Henriet · 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...