Twenty-four Cavaliers Battle with Swords in Four Groups
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet: 9 3/16 × 12 5/8 in. (23.3 × 32.1 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1967
Accession Number
67.542.7
Tags
Art Historical Context
Stefano della Bella's *Twenty-four Cavaliers Battle with Swords Four Groups* (1652) is a dynamic etching that captures the fury of combat among mounted warriors. Printed on a sheet measuring 9 3/16 × 12 5/8 inches, the composition divides twenty-four cavaliers into four distinct groups their horses rearing amid a whirlwind of slashing swords. This intricate scene exemplifies della Bella's mastery of Baroque printmaking, where fine etched lines convey motion, tension, and chaos on a grand scale. A Florentine artist who worked across Italy and France, della Bella was celebrated for his virtuosi...
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...