Death on the Battlefield, from 'The five deaths' (Les cinq Morts)
Stefano della Bella's first set of oval prints illustrating the triumph of Death included a battlefield scene. This horizontal version, in which the Grim Reaper approaches the skirmish on a skeletal horse, probably dates to the same years. Our sheet is a trial impression; the artist has sketched in two ideas for the position of Death's right arm, reinforcing the one he would use in the finished print, and has added a number of warriors to the background. Evidently, Della Bella did not work from a highly finished drawing but continued to compose as he worked on the etching plate.
Jombert and De Vesme date the print to around 1648. There is a strong connection between the print and a sculpture of the figure of Death on horseback also the collection of The Met (17.190.729).
Jombert and De Vesme date the print to around 1648. There is a strong connection between the print and a sculpture of the figure of Death on horseback also the collection of The Met (17.190.729).
Artwork Details
- Title: Death on the Battlefield, from 'The five deaths' (Les cinq Morts)
- Artist: Stefano della Bella (Italian, Florence 1610–1664 Florence)
- Date: ca. 1650–64
- Medium: Etching; proof state retouched with graphite and pen and brown ink
- Dimensions: Sheet (trimmed): 7 1/2 × 11 3/4 in. (19.1 × 29.8 cm)
- Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund and The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, by exchange, 1959
- Object Number: 68.736.1
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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German
mid-17th century
Multiple artists/makers
1646
Stefano della Bella
Pierre Mariette le fils
n.d.
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François Langlois
17th century
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