A man at left in profile giving a handful of hay to a horse at center, a horseman to the right in background

Art Historical Context

In this delicate etching from around 1662, Stefano Bella captures a serene equestrian moment: a man in profile at left offers a handful of hay to a noble horse at center, while a distant horseman recedes into the background at right. Measuring just 3¼ x 4½ inches, the intimate scale invites close viewing, revealing the artist's masterful command of line and texture on a modest sheet of paper. Della Bella, a leading 17th-century Italianmaker active in Florence and Paris, was renowned for his intricate etchings of animals, landscapes, and daily life, influenced by masters like Jacques Callot and Rembrandt. Etching—a technique using acid to bite lines into a metal plate—allowed him to achieve fluid, expressive strokes that convey the horse's gentle muzzle and the hay's soft strands with remarkable realism. Horses were a recurring motif in his oeuvre, symbolizing vitality and human-animal bonds in the Baroque era. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department through the 2011 bequest of Phyllis Massar, this work exemplifies della Bella's prolific output of over 1,000 prints. It offers a glimpse into 17th-century Europe's fascination with equine grace, blending everyday tenderness with artistic virtuosity.

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...