1646
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Baths of Diocletian and Shepherd Sleeping is a 1646 ink by Stefano Della Bella, a Baroque work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This etching shows a half-circle view of a busy cityscape with a large building in the middle. In the foreground, a man lies asleep on the ground, surrounded by sheep. The background has more buildings, trees, and a distant landscape with hills and a river. Notice how the artist used fine lines to create texture, like the folds in the man’s clothes or the fur of the sheep. The curved shape of the print is unusual—it’s not a flat rectangle. This is an example of etching, a printmaking technique where the artist etches lines into a metal plate.
Stefano della Bella (18 May 1610 – 12 July 1664) was an Italian draughtsman and printmaker known for etchings of a great variety of subjects, including military and court scenes, landscapes, and lively genre scenes.
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