Equestrian Ballet in the Amphitheater of the Boboli Gardens
Medium
Etching on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image/plate: 29.2 × 44.5 cm (11 1/2 × 17 9/16 in.); Sheet: 39.2 × 54.8 cm (15 7/16 × 21 5/8 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
137054
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Grand Duke Ferdinand II of Tuscany commissioned Ferdinando Tacca (1619-1686) to design the festivities in honor of his son's marriage, which was held over twenty days. Their ambitious plans for an equestrian ballet required the enlargement of the Boboli Gardens amphitheater. Here, Cosimo III is shown as Hercules on horseback wearing an elaborate headdress, and Atlas stands in the center of the arena. After announcing his reason for being there, Atlas and his globe split in two, becoming Mount At...
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...