1641
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Officer Giving Orders to a Sentinel is a 1641 ink by Stefano Della Bella, a Baroque work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This etching shows a soldier in a wide-brimmed hat pointing toward a cannon on the shore. Behind him, other men load the weapon while a group of figures on boats watches from the water. Smoke rises in the distance, and the scene looks busy but orderly. The artist used fine lines to show details like the folds in the soldiers’ clothes and the texture of the cannon. This kind of precision is typical of the time. Next, look up the technique: etching to see how artists like this made prints.
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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