Stefano della Bella

Happy Birthday Sefano della Bella!! Italian born printmaker from 1610, Bella was known for his engravings of military personnell, but at the incredibly young age of 10, he began studying in the workshop of a goldsmith. Soon after, however, he switched to engraving and then painting. He enjoyed the patronage of the Medici family and was able to study for six years in Rome, creating numerous drawings of vedute and antiquities, later transforming these into engravings. Bella continued to create drawings and prints in Paris and then Florence until a stroke in 1661 curtailed his work. In the latter years of his life he instructed pupils in drawing. He left behind over a thousand prints, several thousand drawings but only one painting. The print included today is the View of the Harbor Livorno andmarks the peak of his career. Note the wash used in the water, a highly technical technique in an etching.

Vedute-sweeping landscape views or vistas that are highly detailed.