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From the "Animal Hunts" Series

Stefano della Bella

Basic information

ID: Г-IV-928
Author: Stefano della Bella
Name: From the "Animal Hunts" Series
Country: Italy
Technique: etching
Material: paper
Dimensions: 15.1 x 23 cm (height x width)

Additionally

Type: graphic art
Genre: 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 is part of the "Animal Hunts" series (French: "Chasses à différents animaux", Italian: "Cacce di diversi animali"), which consists of nine prints. The author created it shortly after returning to Florence from Paris.
A dynamic hunting scene is presented. In the centre of the composition, in the foreground, a young female deer is depicted fleeing from a hound that is catching up with her. The artist masterfully conveys the tension and anatomical precision of the animal's movements, captured at the moment of a leap. In the background on the left, another scene unfolds: a hound pursues a stag with curved antlers, while a hunter on horseback gallops closely behind them. The compositional centre of the work is a spreading, detailed tree with a thick canopy that divides the space into two main grounds. The sky, covered with light clouds, is rendered with horizontal strokes.
Della Bella demonstrates a masterly command of line. Through fine lines and dense cross-hatching, the artist skilfully conveys the texture of the animals' fur, the bark of the tree, the volume of the foliage, and the play of light and shadow. The use of various types of hatching is a characteristic feature of the artist's style.

Inscriptions

At the bottom right under the image, the author's engraved signature: "SD Bella".

Legal regulation

Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery

From the "Animal Hunts" Series

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