Carousel for Ferdinand II, Duke of Tuscany
Medium
Etching in black on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image/plate: 33 × 44.5 cm (13 × 17 9/16 in.); Sheet: 37.8 × 48.6 cm (14 15/16 × 19 3/16 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
28651
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This etching commemorates the extravagant festivities marking the 1637 marriage of Ferdinando de’ Medici— also known as Ferdinand II—to the Princess of Urbino, Vittoria della Rovere. Such lavish displays of wealth maintained the social and political standing of the Italian elite. The central area shows a carriage drawn by four elephants flanked on either side by horsemen and foot soldiers, with a fictive dead dragon in tow. Bordering the central panel are the 15 movements of an equally celebrato...
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...