Stefano Della Bella, Baroque Printmaker: The I. Webb Surratt, Jr. Print Collection
March 29 to June 23, 2001
Marsh Art Gallery, University of Richmond MuseumsFrench King Louis XIV, Grand Duke Ferdinand II de'Medici, Cardinal Richelieu -- these are just a few of the illustrious figures that commissioned prints by the Italian artist, Stefano della Bella (1610-1664). The Marsh Art Gallery, University of Richmond Museums, in collaboration with the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, has organized an exhibition of over 100 prints by this Baroque master. All of the prints are from the museum's permanent collection, part of The I. Webb Surratt, Jr. Print Collection.
A contemporary of Bernini, Rubens, and Rembrandt, Della Bella created artwork that contributes to our knowledge of the politics, culture, religion, and society of the Baroque age in Italy and France. A consummate draftsman, he regularly sketched his subjects from life, acting almost as a reporter for the events of his age. With more than a thousand prints and thousands of drawings, his body of work consists of myriad topics such as rural and urban landscapes, military battle scenes, and ornamental decorations.
Born in Florence into an artistic family, Della Bella was trained in painting but he preferred drawing and etching as his favorite media. Before he was twenty years old, he had obtained patronage of the Medici court, then the ruling family of Florence. Commissions for the Medicis included illustrations for festival books -- small souvenir type publications that recorded weddings, funerals, and state visitations. This exhibition presented several prints from these books, such as a scene from a memorial service for Emperor Ferdinand II of Austria, which shows the skeleton decorations used in grand funerals at that time.
Following a short stay in Rome, Della Bella moved to Paris in 1639, where he found work with the French royalty as well as producing work for lay people. A print from the 1640s is a highly detailed depiction of seven-year-old King Louis XIV and his mother, Queen Anne of Austria, participating in a Corpus Christi festival in the Paris. Another large image from 1646 shows a scene of Paris from the Pont Neuf bridge over the Seine. More than 400 people and countless horses, dogs, and other animals reveal the amazing variety and activities of this city's populace. The events of The Thirty Year's War (1618-1648) also appear in Della Bella's prints. Cardinal Richelieu, the French Minister who established the country's naval fleets, commissioned several battle scenes from the artist. Some images recollect the horrors of battle, while others act more as topographical surveys of the losses and gains of the warring parties.
During the mid-1600s, collecting and making artwork became a popular pastime. Della Bella created numerous images of religious and genre scenes that his publishers sold in various popular print markets. He also created a book to teach people how to draw. The publication included a series of prints of faces, hands, feet, eyes, ears, and mouths. Royalty in particular were encouraged to learn the skill of drawing, and a print from 1656 shows Grand Duke Cosimo III sketching from a classical vase in the Medici collection in Rome.
Civil revolts in Paris between 1648 to 1653 forced Della Bella to return to Florence where he again received commissions from the Medici. A late series of prints depicts the decadent and incredibly ornate gardens of the Villa Pratolino, just north of Florence. Scenes from this selection include an image of an enormous oak tree house with a staircase made of undulating vines and roots. Another print shows the "Grotto of Cupid," a garden of fountains that spewed jets of water at unsuspecting visitors.
Perhaps the most influential of Della Bella's works are his ornamental creations, based on ancient designs and grotto decorations. In these fantasy images, putti caress garlands of ivy that support dancing cheetahs, and swirls of flora become entwined lovers. Echoes of the artist's work can be seen in the Rococo interior decorations of homes and furnishings during the eighteenth century.
Organized by the Marsh Art Gallery, University of Richmond Museums, in collaboration with the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, the exhibition was curated by Charles W. Johnson, Professor of Art History and Chair of the Department of Art and Art History, University of Richmond. The exhibition was made possible with funding from the University of Richmond Tucker-Boatwright Festival of the Arts. An illustrated 112-page catalogue with an essay by Dr. Johnson, published by the University of Richmond Museums, is available. The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts will circulate the exhibition.