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Battle scene with the destruction of a village at the top left (recto)

Maker

Attributed to
(artist)
1610-1664

Formerly attributed to
(artist)
1592-1635

Title

Medium

pen and brown ink (recto and verso) on light brown paper, with brown ink framing lines, in a historic mount border

Dimensions

Height: 13.3 cm
Width: 20.5 cm

Accession Number

D.1952.RW.1133

Mode of Acquisition

Robert Clermont Witt, bequest, 1952

Credit

The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)

Copyright

Work in the public domain

Location

Not currently on display

Keywords

Label Text

The Italian printmaker Stefano Della Bella neatly displayed a menagerie of exotic and farm animals on this study sheet. The delicately rendered animals are evenly spread out across the page, and each seems to inhabit its own space, the untouched paper serving as invisible barriers in the imaginary zoo. It has been suggested that these animals were gathered from prints, such as those by Jacques Callot (1592-1635), whom Della Bella much admired.

Provenance

Bazot (early 19th century), L.342, 1815; Thomas Cholmondeley, 1st Baron Delamere (1767-1855); his estate sale, Sotheby’s (London), 13 - 14 April 1926, lot 359; purchased there by Sir Robert Witt, London (1872-1952), L.2228b (£2.25); Witt Bequest 1952

Exhibition History

Special Display - The Grid, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 26/01/2012-28/05/2012

Literature

Blunt, Anthony, 'Stefano della Bella, Jean Valdor and Cardinal Richelieu' in 'Master Drawings', Summer 1978 - 156-62, 217-22; 16, 2
p. 161
Illus. pl. 28 (recto), pl. 29 (verso)

Inscriptions

Watermark: Watermark: upper centre edge: fragment of edge of circle containing lines/rays.

Inscription: Mount border (historic), Recto (though is on the verso of the drawing): lower centre, dark brown ink: “Ex Collect. Bazot 1815.”. Outer mount (removed, cut down and now in file): graphite: “verso certainly Stefano, but not / connected with any known etching / Recto cf 3140 – some animals / almost identical / 1133 //”.

Collector's mark: Recto and Verso: lower left corners stamped in black ink: Bazot (L.342). Mount border (historic), Recto (though on verso of drawing): lower left corner, stamped in black ink: Sir Robert Witt (L.2228b).

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