Artwork
Peasant Seated on a Horse with Cows, Sheep, and Goats
Peasant Seated on a Horse with Cows, Sheep, and Goats is an ink print by the Baroque artist Stefano Della Bella. It dates from 1637 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Stefano della Bella’s 1637 etching, executed on laid paper, presents a bucolic tableau in which a woman sits astride a modest horse while various livestock—cattle, sheep and goats—populate the surrounding meadow. The composition is framed by an unadorned, oval sky that offers no atmospheric detail, focusing attention on the figures and their arrangement.
Subject & Meaning
The work captures a moment of everyday rural life, emphasizing the relationship between human activity and animal husbandry. The seated rider, rendered in a sideways pose, suggests a pause in labor or travel, while the dispersed animals convey the abundance and routine of a working farm landscape.
Technique & Style
Created through etching, della Bella incised lines into a metal plate, then transferred the image onto paper. The print exhibits a loose, sketch‑like quality: the animals are delineated with rapid, gestural strokes, and the rider’s facial features are rendered with minimal, yet distinct, lines. The restrained sky and open field enhance the immediacy of the drawing.
History & Provenance
The impression is identified as a restrike, meaning it was produced after the original plate’s initial printing, likely from the same matrix used by della Bella. Such later impressions were common in the 17th‑century print market, allowing continued distribution of popular images.
Context
Della Bella, a Florentine draftsman prolific in both prints and drawings, produced over a thousand prints covering a wide range of subjects, from courtly scenes to genre depictions. This rural genre piece reflects his interest in everyday life and his skill in rendering lively, informal scenes with economy of line.
Artist & collection
Artist
Stefano della Bella (18 May 1610 – 12 July 1664) was an Italian draughtsman and printmaker known for etchings of a great variety of subjects, including military and court scenes, landscapes, and lively genre scenes.
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