- 55
Stefano della Bella
Estimate
8,000 - 12,000 GBP
bidding is closed
Description
- Stefano della Bella
- A Polish cavalryman wearing an assemblage of feathers, and two other riders
- Pen and brown ink and grey wash over black chalk within partial brown ink framing lines
Provenance
With Arcade Gallery, 1946;
sale, London, Sotheby's, 11 December 1980, lot 28
sale, London, Sotheby's, 11 December 1980, lot 28
Exhibited
London, Arcade Gallery, Stefano della Bella: Exhibition of 60 of his Drawings, 1946, no. 30 (Three Soldiers on horseback), reproduced
Condition
Hinged to the mount at the upper margin. Overall in good condition. Tip of the upper left corner is missing. Medium still strong and fresh.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
Not long after Della Bella's arrival in Rome he received a commission to execute six prints to commemorate the ceremonial entry of the Polish Ambassador, Georges Ossolinsky, into the Holy City on 27 November 1633.1 In order to fulfil such an ambitious project Della Bella would have produced numerous studies of the figures and horses that he saw at the ceremony. It is plausible that the present sheet was in fact one of those rapid studies made on the spot. The costume of the horseman on the far right is adorned with an elaborate assemblage of feathers and these were often worn by Polish cavalrymen known as Hussars during ceremonial occasions.
Della Bella's interest in the exotic horse and rider continued throughout his career and he developed the motif in a series of eleven round engravings representing individual horsemen of various nationalities.2
1. P. Dearborn Massar, Presenting Stefano della Bella, Seventeenth-century Printmaker, exh. cat., New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1971, pp. 43-47
2. Ibid. pp. 48-49