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Frontispiece for "The Works of Scarron"

Stefano della Bella

Basic information

ID: Г-IV-967
Author: Stefano della Bella
Name: Frontispiece for "The Works of Scarron"
Country: France
Technique: etching
Material: paper
Dimensions: 19.8 x 15.6 cm (height x width)

Additionally

Type: graphic art
Genre: grotesque symbolic art
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

This multi-figure composition presents a grotesque depiction of the nine Muses in the guise of clamorous women. They surround a chair occupied by a man in a hat, who is shown from behind. This is the French satirist Paul Scarron (1610–1660), author of burlesque poetry and "The Comic Romance" (Le Roman Comique), whose collected works were introduced by this frontispiece. Depicted at the top is a rocky peak symbolising Mount Parnassus. Seated upon it are the ancient deities Bacchus and Pan, merrily playing musical instruments. From above, the winged horse Pegasus watches them intently.
Due to the delicate and dense hatching, the composition gains a sense of dynamism: the garments of the Muses as women are conveyed as if in motion, whilst the texture of the rocks and foliage in the background is reproduced with high detail. The work is filled with theatrical effects and irony.

Inscriptions

Beneath the image on the right, the artist's signature is engraved: "Stef. della Bella fec.". Pencil marks on the backing cardboard below indicate numbers and the gallery inventory number.

Legal regulation

Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery

Frontispiece for "The Works of Scarron"

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