The Drawings of Castiglione and Stefano Della Bella

This publication examines the Royal Collection drawings by Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione and Stefano Della Bella.

STEFANO DELLA BELLA (1610-1664)

The young Cosimo III de' Medici, drawing the Medici vase

c.1656

Pen and ink over black chalk | 14.0 x 11.1 cm (sheet of paper) | RCIN 904649

A study of Cosimo III de' Medici (1642-1723) drawing the Medici vase. He is shown seated, his body in profile, and his face three-quarters to the right. A separate study of a hand appears at upper right. At the time this drawing was made, Cosimo was heir to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, and he succeeded his father, Ferdinando II de' Medici as Grand Duke in 1670. This drawing is a study for an etching (de Vesme 832, Jombert 189), which is dated 1656. Stefano della Bella accompanied Cosimo to Rome as his drawing master in the 1650s.

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