BELLA, STEFANO DELLA

( (Italian), ) born May 18, 1610, Florence died July 12, 1664, Florence French tienne De La Belle Baroque printmaker noted for his engravings of military events, in the manner of Jacques Callot. Stefano was initially apprenticed to a goldsmith but turned to engraving, studying under Remigio Cantagallina. Through Lorenzo de' Medici he was enabled to spend three years in study at Rome. In 1642 he went to Paris, where Cardinal de Richelieu engaged him to make drawings of the siege of Arras and the taking of that town by the French army. In 1647 he went to Amsterdam, where he was influenced by the Dutch school of landscape painting and the graphics of Rembrandt. His works after this period grew more atmospheric and delicate, often being executed in small formats. About 1650 he returned to Florence. His prints number more than 1,400 and include a wide variety of subjects.