A valet taking two horses to bathe, sitting atop one horse in a river, the other beside him to right

Art Historical Context

In this delicate etching from around 1662, Italian Stefano della Bella captures a serene riverside moment: a valet atop one horse as he it—and a companion steed beside him—into the water for a bath. Titled *A Valet Taking Two Horses tohe*, the small-scale print (just 3 1/16 x 4 15/16 inches) exemplifies della Bella's mastery of everyday scenes, blending the grandeur of Baroque naturalism with intimate human-animal interactions. Della Bella, a prolific 17th-century etcher trained in Florence and influenced by Jacques Callot and Rembrandt, excelled in intricate line work that animates motion and texture. Etching, his preferred medium, allowed him to incise fine details into a copper plate with acid, producing rich tonal contrasts and a sense of lively improvisation. Here, the rippling water, the horses' glistening coats, and the valet's casual poise evoke the pastoral rhythms of rural life in an era when horses were vital for travel and labor. Now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, thanks to the 2011 bequest of Phyllis Massar, this work highlights della Bella's skill in elevating mundane tasks into poetic vignettes, offering visitors a window into 17th-century Europe's equestrian culture and the artistry of printmaking.

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...