Stefano della BELLA (1610-1664)
Della Bella - Le Nozze degli Dei / Vulcan's forge / Description: Ballet with Vulcan's forge in a hill in background at centre, with cliffs rising on either side and dancers at centre staging battles, drummers at front left and right, and the gods in the sky behind at centre, with Mercury flying down towards the forge. 1637. in margin below image " Scena grotta di Vulcano " and "Alfon.us Parig.us Inv. SDB. Deli. e F". From a series of 8 prints of ballet scenes etched by Stefano dell Bella after designs by Alfonso Parigi. The ballets were associated with an opera for the Marriage of Grand Duke Ferdinand II in 1637. The prints were published in Florence in Le nozze degli dei. Scena grotta di Vulcano depicts a ballet with gods in the sky with Mercury flying towards Vulcan's forge. / Dimensions: 20,20 x 28,60 cm Excellent good inked impression on watermarked laid paper trimmed on plate border. Small margin around the image borderline. Complete with text line who has a small paper loss bottom left and closed tear bottom middle. / Literature: De Vesme/Massar 1971 925--- Relazione delle Nozze degli dei favola dell'abate Gio: Carlo Coppola alla serenissima Vittoria Principessa d'Urbino Gran Duchessa di Toscana (Florence, 1637) ----Stefano della Bella (1610-1664) was a prodigious Italian printmaker working in Florence under the patronage of the Medicis but most of his prints date from 1639-1650 when he lived in Paris Alfonso Parigi the Younger (1606–1656) was an Italian architect and scenographer, & worked at Palazzo Pitti.
