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Deer Hunt. From the "Animal Hunts" Series

Stefano della Bella

Basic information

ID: Г-IV-931
Author: Stefano della Bella
Name: Deer Hunt. From the "Animal Hunts" Series
Country: Italy
Technique: etching
Material: paper
Dimensions: 15 x 25.3 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 belongs to the "Animal Hunts" series (French: "Chasses à différents animaux", Italian: "Caccie di diversi animali"), which consists of nine prints. The artist created it shortly after returning to Florence from Paris.
The composition is built on two planes. In the foreground, three figures are depicted observing the hunt. On the left, a servant leads a horse towards his master – a cavalier with a pike who holds a dog by its collar. Seen from behind, the hunter stands in tense anticipation, preparing to release his hound upon the prey. On the right, a second mounted cavalier calmly observes the hunt as if it were a theatrical performance. On the second plane, the central figure is a cavalier on horseback who, along with two hounds, pursues a young female deer attempting to escape them. In the far distance, a hilly landscape is detailed beneath a cloudy sky.
The print demonstrates Stefano della Bella's superb graphic skill in conveying space, scale proportions, and complex movement, with the artist transforming a reportage-style hunting scene into a refined piece of cabinet art.

Inscriptions

At the bottom of the print on the left, the artist's monogram "S. D. B." is engraved.

Legal regulation

Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery