Plate 6: head of an old bearded soldier wearing a helmet facing right, from 'Various heads and figures' (Diverses têtes et figures)

Art Historical Context

This delicate etching by Stefano della Bella, published in 1650 by Israël Henriet, captures the weathered face of an elderly soldier in profile. Plate 6 from the series *Diverses têtes et figures* (Various Heads and Figures) shows the man in a crested helmet, his beard and lined features rendered with remarkable economy. Measuring just over three inches tall, the print exemplifies della Bella’s skill at distilling character and age into a compact, expressive image. Working in the Baroque period, della Bella produced thousands of etchings that blended observation with lively imagination. Etching’s fluid lines allowed him to suggest both the hard metallic surface of the helmet and the soft texture of hair and skin, making these small sheets popular with collectors who valued them as portable studies of human types. The series reflects a seventeenth-century fascination with heads as vehicles for emotion and social identity. Today in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, this impression—part of the bequest of Phyllis Massar—offers visitors a quiet window into the era’s military world and the enduring appeal of della Bella’s graphic art.

About the Artist

Stefano della Bella|Israël Henriet · 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...