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Death on the Battlefield, from 'The five deaths' (Les cinq Morts)

ca. 1650–64
Not on view
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).

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 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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Death, Lindenwood with traces of pigment, spruce base, German
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A Standing Soldier, Stefano della Bella Italian, Pen and brown ink
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Lobster-Tail Burgonet, Steel, leather, gold, North Italian
Lobster-Tail Burgonet
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A Lock on the Stour, David Lucas British, Mezzotint on chine collé; progress proof, touched with black ink, white chalk, and graphite
A Lock on the Stour
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Studies of Cavaliers, Stefano della Bella Italian, Pen and brown ink
Studies of Cavaliers
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