Stefano della Bella (1610–1664)
“Bataille des Amalecites”,
c.1649 (1645–52). From what I understand, this print was once believed to be a
late print by Della Bella (based on Jombert’s 1663 attribution), but as De
Vesme & Massar (1971) in the catalogue raisonné point out, such a late
date makes no sense: (transl.) “If that is the case, it is surpising to see
that the artist has marked it with the privilege of the King of France” (p. 44;
see also the explanation offered at AbeBooks: https://www.abebooks.com/signed/Bataille-Amalecites-BELLA-Stefano-1610-1664-c1649/22779159857/bd).
Etching on laid paper trimmed
unevely around the image borderline and backed with a support sheet.
Size: (unevenly trimmed
sheet) 12.8 x 28.8 cm; (image borderline) 10.6 x 28.1 cm.
Lettered on plate below
the image borderline: (left) “Stef. Della Bella In. et fe.”; (left of centre) “Tædeat
haud suplices …/ … jpse prece”; (centre) “'Bataille des Amalecites”; (right of
centre) “O Grand legislateur esleue au Ciel …/ …mille coutelas.”; (right) “Cum
priuil. Regis”.
State ii (of ii) with the
addition of the title and Latin and French verses. The British Museum holds a
copy of the first state of this print (see https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1871-0513-31).
De Vesme/Massar 3.ii (Alexandre
de Vesme & Phyllis D. Massar, 1971, “Stefano della Bella. Catalogue
Raisonné”, New York, Collectors Editions, [Text] p. 44, cat. no. 44.3.ii,
[Illust.] p. 3, cat. no. 3 ii/ii); Jombert (Della Bella) 226 (Charles Antoine Jombert
1772, “Essai d'un catalogue de l'oeuvre d'Etienne de la Belle, peintre et
graveur florentin”, Paris, p.
194, cat. no. 226).
The British Museum offers
the following description of this print:
“The battle of the
Amalekites; in the foreground, several Amalekite warriors fleeing to left on
horseback, followed by Israelites, with a dead horse and rider at left and a
dead man at right; with a battlefield behind and the figures of Moses, Aaron
and Hur standing on a mountain summit in the distance to right. c.1649”
See also the description of
this print offered byThe Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Rijksmuseum:
Condition: strong and
well-printed impression with a narrow margin around the platemark at the top
and sides and trimmed unevenly within the platemark on the lower
edge. There is a small dot in the sky at upper right otherwise the sheet is in very
good condition.
I am selling this graphically
strong panoramic view of a battle and with Moses, Aaron and Hur standing on the
mountain summit at far right—they are so small that a microscope is almost
needed to see them!—for AU$320 (currently US$219.93/EUR195.32/GBP175.25 at the time of
posting this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world
(but not, of course, any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries).
If you are interested in
purchasing this exceptional etching by one of the most famous of the old master
printmakers capturing the speed of the Amalekite horsemen with small but critcally important details such as the repeated angles of their lances and the horizontal
lines under their horses’ hooves, please contact me
(oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make
the payment easy.
This print has been sold
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