Bust of a Pole, from "Drawing Basics" (I principii del disegno)

Art Historical Context

This intimate etching, *Bust of a Pole comes from Stefano della Bella’s influential series *I principii del disegno* (“Drawing Basics”), created after 1641. Della Bella, a masterful th-century Florentine printmaker, designed the original plates to help aspiring artists study human features and proportions. The present work is a reverse copy etched by Peregrine Lovell, demonstrating how such instructional prints circulated widely and were often reproduced in mirror image to preserve the original plates. Measuring just over four inches tall, the small sheet captures a dignified male figure in crisp, economical lines typical of etching technique. The reverse orientation and modest scale made the image easy to trace or copy, underscoring its practical role in studio training. As part of the Metropolitan Museum’s collection of prints and drawings, this delicate work reveals how Baroque artists turned everyday portrait studies into accessible tools for artistic education across Europe.

About the Artist

Stefano della Bella|Peregrine Lovell · 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...