UK
Back

Horses Grazing near the Pyramid of Gaius Cestius. From the "Round Landscapes" or "Roman Landscapes and Ruins" Series, Plate 11

Stefano della Bella

  • Horses Grazing near the Pyramid of Gaius Cestius. From the "Round Landscapes" or "Roman Landscapes and Ruins" Series, Plate 11
Basic information
ID
Г-IV-923
Author
Stefano della Bella
Name
Horses Grazing near the Pyramid of Gaius Cestius. From the "Round Landscapes" or "Roman Landscapes and Ruins" Series, Plate 11
Country
France
Technique
etching
Material
paper
Dimensions
13.5 x 13.5 cm (height x width)
Additionally
Type
graphic art
Genre
architectural landscape animal painting
Provenance
Received from the Lviv Historical Museum, 1954
Information about author
Author
Stefano della Bella
Author in the original
Stefano della Bella
Artist's lifetime
1610–1644
Country
Italy
Biography
Stefano della Bella (Italian: Stefano della Bella; 1610, Florence – 1664, ibid.). A prominent Italian artist, engraver and etcher of the Early Baroque period, Stefano della Bella was one of the most prolific European printmakers of the 17th century. Following the untimely death of his father, the youth began training in a goldsmith's workshop. Around 1623, he moved to the workshop of the engraver Orazio Vanni, where he mastered the basic techniques of printmaking. Later, he refined his etching technique in the workshop of Remigio Cantagallina – the mentor of the famous French master Jacques Callot. Copying Callot's works significantly influenced the formation of della Bella's own refined artistic style.
During this same period, the artist secured the patronage of the Medici family, who supported him throughout his life. In 1633–1639, funded by his primary patron, Prince Lorenzo de' Medici (uncle of Ferdinand de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany), the artist lived and studied in Rome. There, he immediately received major commissions and made numerous sketches of park ensembles, villas, palaces and ancient ruins, which he later incorporated into his engravings.In Rome, della Bella met the French printmakers Israel Henriet and François Langlois, thanks to whom he moved to Paris in 1639. In France, the artist quickly achieved immense popularity, establishing close and successful collaborations with them, as well as with the leading Parisian publisher Pierre Mariette. His etchings were in high demand among European collectors. In 1650, due to anti-Italian unrest in France (the Fronde), the engraver returned to his native Florence. During this late period, he significantly diversified his favourite themes, creating a series of hunting scenes, landscapes with Roman ruins and detailed depictions of horsemen.
Over his lifetime, Stefano della Bella created more than a thousand unique etchings and thousands of drawings. He worked across battle, landscape, animal, ornamental and genre scenes, capturing the events of his time with documentary precision – from the lavish theatrical pageants of the Florentine nobility to the harsh realities of the Thirty Years' War and the everyday street life of European cities. He became famous for his jewelry-fine, filigree-detailed miniature works.
Object description
The work comes from the "Round Landscapes" series, created by the artist in Paris around 1646. The series consists of 13 prints. In many catalogued descriptions, the work appears as a piece from the "Roman Landscapes and Ruins" ("Paysages et ruines de Rome") series, plate 11. The publisher of this series of prints was François Langlois (1589–1647), known as Ciartres or Chartres. He is considered the first prominent publisher of the French Baroque era.
The print has the shape of a tondo – an experimental format characteristic of della Bella.
In the centre of the composition, horses are depicted in a pasture. In the foreground, a detailed thoroughbred horse is rendered biting the grass. To the left is a mare, with a small foal standing at her feet. The animals are depicted with an accurate rendering of anatomical proportions and coat texture. To the right are two figures of shepherds. One of them points with his hand into the distance. In the middle ground on the right rises the mausoleum of the praetor of the Roman magistrate Gaius Cestius, built at the end of the 1st century BC as a pyramid-shaped tomb. The upper half of the tondo is occupied by a lightly hatched sky with soft clouds, creating a sense of space and a calm evening atmosphere.
The artist demonstrates a masterly command of the stroke. Thanks to the varying density and direction of the lines, the texture of the animals' coats, their volume and musculature, as well as the uneven texture of the architectural masonry, are masterfully conveyed. The soft biting of the lines allows for almost painterly effects of chiaroscuro and aerial perspective.
Inscriptions
At the bottom of the print on the left (effaced): "Bella inuent. fecit.", on the right: "F L. D. Ciartres exc. Сum Priuil. Regis Chrіst." – [François Langlois, known as Ciartres, published with Royal privilege]. Top right: "11". On the mounting cardboard on the left under the sheet, there is a sticker with the stamp of Lviv Historical Museum funds and the former inventory number of the engraving in ink: "Г-4690/54", above it in pencil, the current gallery collection number: "№ Г-IV-923/ ЛДКГ", to the left: "Лв-І". Pencil marks on the mounting cardboard: on the left near the bottom corner of the engraving sheet – "98", on the right – "55".
Legal regulation
Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery

Other

Link copied