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Stefano Della Bella

Quadrille of Horses and Wagons around the Mountain of Atlas: The Horse Ballet in the Conjoined Theater at the Palace of His Highness the Grand Duke of Tuscany, from the book

Description

Maker

Stefano Della Bella (Italian, 1610-1664), printmaker

Title

Quadrille of Horses and Wagons around the Mountain of Atlas: The Horse Ballet in the Conjoined Theater at the Palace of His Highness the Grand Duke of Tuscany, from the book
Il mondo festeggiante (The Festive World)

Year

1661

Medium

  • Etching on paper

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

  • Etching on paper

Materials

ink

Supports

  • paper

Dimensions

Image/sheet: 28.7 x 44.5 cm (11 5/16 x 17 1/2 inches)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Georgianna Sayles Aldrich Fund

Object Number

2011.4

Type

  • Prints

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

The Festive City
Dec 21, 2012 – Jul 14, 2013

Label copy

This action-packed scene was one performance in a multiday theatrical extravaganza held to celebrate the marriage of Cosimo III de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Marguerite Luisa d’Orléans. The theater stretched out from the rear of the ducal residence in Florence, the Pitti Palace, and into the Boboli Gardens, where its structure can still be seen today. On the floor of the theater, riders perform an equestrian ballet. Such ballets (which come down to us today as “dressage”)

consisted of armored and plumed riders who performed mock combat while also forming patterns on the ground, all set to music. In the center, a procession with floats, riders, footmen, and musicians is divided into groups called quadrilles. At the far end, a float billowing with fake smoke and bearing the mountain of Atlas stands before a large, ephemeral architectural structure. The audience surrounds the field on two sides upon massive bleachers.

Jacques Callot and the Baroque Print
Jun 17, 2011 – Nov 06, 2011

Label copy

Stefano Della Bella made this print as part of a series depicting a theatrical extravaganza held to celebrate the marriage of Cosimo III de’ Medici and Marguerite Luisa

d’Orléans at the Palazzo Pitti and Boboli Gardens in Florence. Della Bella portrays an equestrian ballet or carrousel, a procession with floats, horsemen, footmen, and musicians divided into groups called quadrilles. The audience surrounds the field on two sides and a float billowing withsmoke and bearing the mountain of Atlas is at the far end. Della Bella, who worked for the ducal court in Florence after Callot, used many of Callot’s conventions, including a framing repoussoir (foreground framing device), but his execution is somewhat looser, resulting in even more movement and atmosphere.

Use & Feedback

Image use

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This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Stefano Della Bella (Italian, 1610-1664), printmaker
Quadrille of Horses and Wagons around the Mountain of Atlas: The Horse Ballet in the Conjoined Theater at the Palace of His Highness the Grand Duke of Tuscany, from the book; Il mondo festeggiante (The Festive World), 1661
Etching on paper
Image/sheet: 28.7 x 44.5 cm (11 5/16 x 17 1/2 inches)
Georgianna Sayles Aldrich Fund 2011.4

To request new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

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We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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