A Black Man Feeding a Horse
ca. 1662
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Plate: 3 1/4 × 4 5/8 in. (8.3 × 11.8 cm) Sheet: 3 7/16 × 4 3/4 in. (8.8 × 12.1 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Harry G. Friedman, 1961
Accession Number
61.663.199
Tags
Art Historical Context
Stefano della Bella, a Italian etcher of the Baroque era (1610–1664), captures a tender moment of everyday life in *A Black Man Feeding a Horse* (ca. 1662). This intimate etching depicts a Black man gently offering feed to a horse, rendered in della Bella's signature style of lively, detailed vignettes. Working primarily in Florence and Paris, he produced hundreds of prints showcasing equestrian subjects, soldiers, and rustic scenes, often drawing from direct observation during his travels. Etching, della Bella's preferred medium, allowed for exquisite precision on a small scale—here, the pla...
About the Artist
Stefano della Bella · 1610–1664
Stefano della Bella (1610-1664) was one of the most prolific and versatile printmakers of the Italian Baroque period, leaving behind 1,052 prints and several thousand drawings that captured the vivid essence of 17th-century European life. Born in Florence on May 18, 1610, to a family of artists, he trained initially as a goldsmith before studying painting under Cesare Dandini and etching under Rem...