item details
Overview
Born in Florence in 1610, Stefano della Bella began his career in the studio of a goldsmith, but apart from this early apprenticeship, he was basically self-taught. Before the age of twenty, he had allied himself with the powerful Medici court, which provided him with patronage throughout his career. With the Medici's support, in 1633, della Bella travelled to Rome where he remained until 1639. He already showed an impressively diverse range as well as the highest drawing skills. Like a devoted photographer intent on capturing the major events of his time, della Bella recorded the lavish theatrical pageants of the nobility, daily life and the battlefield realities of the Thirty Years' War.
In 1639 della Bella left for Paris where he lived until 1650. There he worked for the publishers Israël Henriet and François Langlois, as well as undertaking work for Pierre Mariette and Cardinals Richelieu and Mazarin. His passion for recording contemporary life is borne out in the diversity of figures found in his prints (one print showing a view of the Pont Neuf in Paris includes no less than 451 discretely formed figures) which range from military scenes to the French countryside.
This is one of two prints (Plate 4) in Te Papa's collection from a series of eight known as 'Divers embarquements' (Diverse embarkations), whose title indicates that they date from this Parisian period. However, it is impossible to gauge the location, which could be the Netherlands, which della Bella also visited in the course of this period. This scene depicts a jetty on the water's edge with the poop of a large ship to right, people walking and getting into a boat to left, their clothes all blown by the wind; with a fortress behind them.
Returning to Italy in 1650, della Bella produced work for the Medici court in Florence as well as contributing to designs for masques. He died in 1664. Hugely admired in his lifetime, della Bella fell into neglect in the 19th and early-to-mid 20th century but is now highly regarded again by art historians.
See:
https://www.aucklandartgallery.com/explore-art-and-ideas/artist/1/stefano-della-bella
http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/artists/11897/stefano-della-bella-italian-1610-1664/
Phyllis D. Massar, 'Presenting Stefano della Bella', https://www.metmuseum.org/pubs/bulletins/1/pdf/3258383.pdf.bannered.pdf
Dr Mark Stocker Curator, Historical International Art June 2017