Dimensions: 11.4 x 16.3 cm (sheet)
Signed in the center of the plate: 'Stef. della Bella florentinus fecit.', inscribed at the bottom right: 'Ciartres excud. Cum Priui. Regis.'
Condition
mounted on handmade paper
Work mounted
Bibliography
A. de Vesme, P. D. Massar, Stefano della Bella. Catalogue Raisonné, New York 1971, no. 175.
J. Talbierska, Stefano della Bella (1610–1664). Etchings from the Collection of the Print Room of the University Library in Warsaw, Warsaw 2001, no. II. 207/III, p. 328 (ill.)
Biography
Born in Florence, Stefano della Bella was trained as a goldsmith but ultimately became an engraver. He moved to Rome, where, thanks to the patronage of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Lorenzo de’ Medici, he was able to study for three years. At the age of 32, he moved to Paris, where he was commissioned by Cardinal Richelieu to illustrate the siege and capture of the city of Arras by the royal army. Upon his return from France, he was hired as a drawing instructor at the Medici household. The artist left behind over 1,000 engravings.
