Back

Cattle near the Ruins of an Ancient Temple. From the "Round Landscapes" or "Roman Landscapes and Ruins" Series, Plate 13

Stefano della Bella

Basic information

ID: Г-IV-926
Author: Stefano della Bella
Name: Cattle near the Ruins of an Ancient Temple. From the "Round Landscapes" or "Roman Landscapes and Ruins" Series, Plate 13
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
Plot: Landscape
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. During this period, della Bella was under the patronage of Cardinal Richelieu. 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 13. 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 foreground, a herd of buffaloes is depicted in the centre near the mouth of a river in the lowlands, against the backdrop of coastal hills. The animals are rendered with a profound knowledge of anatomy. One of the buffaloes lies on the ground, while the others are grouped near the water body. On the right, in the background, a figure of a rider moving along the hill is noticeable. The compositional dominance of the middle ground is a massive, semi-ruined tower of an ancient temple, rising on the left. It is overgrown with thick grass and shrubs. The ruin symbolises both the grandeur and transience of past eras.
The upper part of the tondo is occupied by the sky covered with light clouds, conveyed through fine parallel and cross-hatching. Deep, sharp strokes in the foreground gradually change into softer, blurred lines in the rendering of the ruin and the hill.
Lyricism, elegance of lines, and pastoral serenity, characteristic of the 17th-century Italian "idyllic landscape", are brought into this scenery.
The engraving is a mirror image of the print under No. Г-IV-925.

Inscriptions

At the bottom of the print on the left: "Stef. Della Bella jnuent". Top right on the sheet: "13". 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-4690/55", above it in pencil, the current gallery collection number: "№ Г-IV-926/ ЛДКГ". Pencil marks on the mounting cardboard near the bottom corner of the engraving sheet: on the left – "100", on the right – "57".

Legal regulation

Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery

Cattle near the Ruins of an Ancient Temple. From the "Round Landscapes" or "Roman Landscapes and Ruins" Series, Plate 13

Other