Artwork
Caprices: Beggar Woman with a Baby and a Little Girl
Caprices: Beggar Woman with a Baby and a Little Girl is a print by the Baroque artist Stefano Della Bella. It dates from 1642 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
Overview
Created circa 1642, this etching by Stefano della Bella—an accomplished Florentine draughtsman known for his prolific output—belongs to his series of capricious prints. The work portrays a modest riverside scene populated by two women and a child, rendered with the detailed observation characteristic of della Bella’s extensive repertoire of genre and courtly subjects.
Subject & Meaning
The composition presents a tall woman cradling an infant, while a smaller figure leans on a staff, suggesting a familial or charitable relationship. Simple dwellings and scattered vegetation line the water’s edge, evoking a quiet, everyday moment that reflects the artist’s interest in the lives of the lower classes and the informal interactions that occur along a riverbank.
Technique & Style
Executed in etching, the image relies on bold, decisive lines to model light and shadow, a technique that gives the figures a three‑dimensional presence against the flat background. The contrast of dark outlines with lighter areas creates a subtle chiaroscuro effect, emphasizing the worn garments and the textures of the surrounding foliage.
History & Provenance
Della Bella produced more than a thousand prints during his career, and this piece forms part of his capriccio series, which often combined imaginative elements with realistic detail. While the original plate’s ownership history is not extensively documented, the work has been catalogued among his 1640s productions and appears in several major collections of early modern prints.
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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