Artwork
Woman with a Young Bull
Woman with a Young Bull 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, a Florentine artist active in the early seventeenth century, produced the etching *Woman with a Young Bull* in 1637. Executed on laid paper as a restrike, the print exemplifies his prolific output in the medium of etching, a field in which he left a substantial legacy of genre scenes.
Subject & Meaning
The composition presents a woman dressed in a long, flowing gown, her hand guiding a rope attached to the horns of a young bull. Both figures share a calm interaction: the animal gazes downward while the woman looks toward it with a gentle expression, suggesting a moment of everyday tenderness rather than overt narrative.
Technique & Style
Della Bella employs fine line work and varied hatching to render the folds of the woman's dress and the textured hide of the bull, creating a subtle sense of depth. The background consists of simple horizontal lines that delineate space without distracting from the central figures, a hallmark of his restrained yet detailed approach to etching.
History & Provenance
Although della Bella created more than a thousand etchings and thousands of drawings, only a single painting is documented in his oeuvre. *Woman with a Young Bull* survives as a restrike, indicating that the plate was reprinted after the original impression, a common practice that helped disseminate his work throughout Europe.
Context
The print aligns with the broader Baroque interest in depicting quotidian moments with heightened naturalism. Della Bella’s focus on genre subjects places him among contemporaries who turned away from strictly religious or mythological themes to explore scenes of daily life.
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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.
![The Flight into Egypt [verso], by Stefano Della Bella](https://artifactworldgallery.com/img/stefano-della-bella--the-flight-into-egypt-verso--3a100db72e6d25e3-w320.webp)
![Tobias and the Angel [verso], by Hermann Weyer](https://artifactworldgallery.com/img/hermann-weyer--tobias-and-the-angel-verso--e00682edf3b74b17-w320.webp)
