Escutcheon with Eagles and Serpents ; Two Different Halves of Cartouches Each Showing an Eagle Fighting a Serpent
Stefano Della Bella, Italian, 1610 - 1664
about 1646
Engraving on laid paper
Sheet: 4 1/2 × 7 5/8 in. (11.4 × 19.3 cm)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Purchased through the Julia L. Whittier Fund
PR.964.153
Portfolio / Series Title
Plate 14 from Raccolta de varii capriccii (Collection of Various Caprices)
Publisher
François Langlois, il Ciartres, Paris
Geography
Place Made: Italy, Europe
Period
1600-1800
Object Name
Research Area
Not on view
Inscriptions
Inscribed, in plate, upper right: 14; inscribed, in plate, lower left: Stef. Della Bella in. fecit.; inscribed, in plate, lower right: F.L.D. Il Ciartres excud. Cum Priuil. Regis Chris.; Collector's mark, stamped, in red, lower left: GARD [unidentified; Lugt 431b and Lugt 1065b]
Label
The Florentine printmaker Stefano della Bella began his career in a goldsmith’s studio. While he is celebrated today for his thousands of prints and drawings, his early training demonstrates the close connection between metalworkers and printmakers, who use many of the same techniques and tools in their work. Della Bella designed hundreds of small images like the present escutcheon that incorporated popular decorative elements such as the birds of prey and snakes seen here. These elements could be adapted for any number of uses in different media.
From the 2024 exhibition Living with Sculpture: Presence and Power in Europe, 1400–1750, curated by Elizabeth Rice Mattison, Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Academic Programming and Curator of European Art, and Ashley B. Offill, Curator of Collections
Course History
History 42.01, Women's Gender, and Sexuality Studies 22.01, Gender & European Society, Patrick Meehan, Spring 2024
History 96.39, Saints and Relics, Cecilia Gaposchkin, Spring 2024
Italian 1.01, Introductory Italian I, Noemi Perego, Spring 2024
Italian 11.01, Intensive Italian, Floriana Ciniglia, Spring 2024
Italian 2.01, Introductory Italian II, Floriana Ciniglia, Spring 2024
Italian 3.01, Introductory Italian III, Tania Convertini, Spring 2024
Italian 3.02, Introductory Italian III, Giorgio Alberti, Spring 2024
German 13.01, Beyond Good and Evil, Heidi Denzel, Fall 2024
History 3.01, Europe in the Age of Wonder, Cecilia Gaposchkin, Fall 2024
Italian 1.02, Introductory Italian I, Floriana Ciniglia, Fall 2024
Italian 1.03, Introductory Italian I, Floriana Ciniglia, Fall 2024
Italian 1.01, Introductory Italian I, Floriana Ciniglia, Fall 2024
Italian 11.01, Intensive Italian, Matteo Gilebbi, Fall 2024
Italian 3.01, Introductory Italian III, Giorgio Alberti, Fall 2024
Italian 3.02, Introductory Italian III, Matteo Gilebbi, Fall 2024
Exhibition History
Living with Sculpture: Presence and Power in Europe, 1400–1750, Citrin Family Gallery and Engles Family Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, March 23, 2024–March 22, 2025.
Provenance
Dr. David James, Miami, Florida; sold to present collection, 1964.
Catalogue Raisonne
De Vesme (1971): 1040
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