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Before Embarking on Galley. From the "Various Landscapes" Series or the "Set of Eight Nautical Landscapes" (Suite de huit Marines) Series

Stefano della Bella

Basic information

ID: Г-IV-939
Author: Stefano della Bella
Name: Before Embarking on Galley. From the "Various Landscapes" Series or the "Set of Eight Nautical Landscapes" (Suite de huit Marines) Series
Country: Italy
Technique: etching
Material: paper
Dimensions: 12 x 20 cm (height x width)

Additionally

Type: graphic art
Genre: marine 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 a series dedicated to seascapes and inspired by views of the Tuscan port of Livorno. In the foreground on the left, a large galley, shown from the stern and moored in the harbour, dominates the scene. The stern is exquisitely decorated with relief patterns, where two figures are securing the rigging. On the right, a soldier with a musket is depicted on the quarterdeck. In the centre, a group of figures in contemporary European and Oriental attire are represented on the shore, engaged in a lively conversation. In the lower right corner, two men are resting directly on the ground. Also on the right, boats with people on board are depicted. Behind their sails, the Torre del Marzocco tower in Livorno is visible, which served as an important defensive structure and a signaling beacon at the entrance to the harbour. In the background, a boundless marine expanse unfolds with barely perceptible silhouettes of other ships beneath a low, cloudy sky.
Stefano della Bella demonstrates high mastery in rendering minute details through fine linear and cross-hatching strokes: the texture of the wood, the relief of the carving, the drapery of the garments, and the lightness of the sea air. Through the distribution of light and shade, a deep perspective is created, capturing the genuine atmosphere of seventeenth-century port life.

Inscriptions

At the bottom of the backing cardboard, the inventory numbers of the work are marked in pencil.

Legal regulation

Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery