Stefano Della Bella's Allegory of Death on horseback

 Salvete Omnes,

the end of Spring is coming up in the next 4 weeks (or like in the US, Springs ends and Summer begins with this Memorial Day Monday weekend) but the terrible war in Europe between the Russian Federation and Ukraine supported logistically, with intelligence & especially with Starlinks by US & EU shows no signs of abating. Recently Ukrainian (the war in the Persian Gulf seems to have better prospects of ending). Several nights ago Ukrainian drones hit a college dormitory in Starobilsk, Luhansk province, and in retaliation (?) for the studnets/kids deaths and injuries  the Russian drones and rockets bombarded Kiev/Kyiv (in Polish: Kijow) and other targets across Ukraine last night.

 
Longer this war lasts more dangerous and bestial it will become (more on the level of the Israeli wars in Palestine), until reaching the next level as the potential nuclear arms use could be looming on the horizon in Europe. 
so in the spirit of deadly dangers and the utmost & urgent need for peace in Europe (devoid of any real leadership on the part of EU) - allegorical images of Death by Stefano della Bella.

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let us hope the Death will not triumph across Europe like it is shown  in the paintings by Pieter Breugel the Elder (in Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain) and the Younger .

ps

the famous XV century  'Triumph of Death'  fresco from Palermo, Sicily, we will save for another day.

Valete

Illustrations interpeting Old Polish-themed XVII century prints

 Salvete Omnes,

a little bit of Stefano della Bella and Certamen equestre art - or rather some attempts by the XIX century illustrators to interpret the Italian and German period masters.

chronologically, Stefano Della Bella was the author who observed Polish riders in Rome, Italy (1630s), and later in France (1640s).

The XIX century illustrator working from Stefano's prints created these two illustrations.

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The famous Certamen Equestre prints by Ehrenstrahl document the splendorous  horse show at the Swedish court in 1670s. One of the historic people portrayed in these prints is a Polish condottiere Zachariasz Gamocki (there are two fine articles by Stockholm & Uppsala Universities researcher  Elzbieta Swiecicka on the Gamckis family - husband and his  wife Eva Richard de la Chapelle). 
Gamocki was in the service of Swedish crown, used as messenger and translator/inteprter due to his knowledge & command of various languages including Turkish & Crimean Tatar - but there was also an ambiguity and perhaps scandal about that during the Crimean Tatar embassy of Alsna Aga to Sweden  in 1671- , but in the Certamen prints he was shown among the Polish fraction of horsemen, horses  and retainers.

Below the interpretation of the figure of this Swedish courtier by the XIX century illustrator 

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all images from Polona, Polish Republic-EU national library

Valete

Stefano Della Bella, Disegni e pensieri originali (schizzi a penna) - horses and horsemen

 Salvete Omnes,

second post from the sketchbook by Old Master Stefano Della Bella. 
this series contains sketches showing more Western European riders and horses 

.. a pen & ink drawing from a different collection

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Enjoy - 

ps for some more Old Polish costume by maestro Stefano - this time a nobleman with a special hat adornment popular in Old Poland through out the period. 
Nota bene Old Polish hunting books from the XVI-XVIII centuries advised the noble hunters to hunt for male herons to collect these special crest, tufted feathers.

Polish nobleman - fur hat with aigrette - egret crest feathers

Valete

Stefano Della Bella, Disegni e pensieri originali (schizzi a penna) - Polish horse & horsemen

Salvete Omnes,

a quick but full of wonderful sketches in pen and ink by an Italian maestro of the XVII century.

Polish costume - zupan, delia and kolpak

 Stefano Della Bella, Disegni e pensieri originali (schizzi a penna) from Florence, available on Archive .  Sketches were drawn  in Rome during the 1630s, and can be associated with the so called Ossolinski entry into Rome. 

I corralled for you the Polish horse and horsemen, ad a few Ottoman & Safavid Persian portraits drawn by maestro Stefano:

  

outfitted horse with a jarczak saddle and splendid bridle 

tying of the sash, Polish style, also shaved head with a hair lock, sabretache 

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enjoy 

Valete

2 "Amigos' from one source - on using the period iconography

 Salvete Omnes,

I would like to share with you two interesting examples on fair use of art and also on the need for caution when looking at the period art.

Stefano della Bella - Italian artist working until the 1660s - active in Rome (papal court), Florence and Paris (French court), creating his own art in the form of drawings, then engraving & etching and printing his creations. 

MET has this image - Polish horseman, part of the 'Figures on Horseback' (Cavaliers nègres, polonais et hongrois) collection.

Rotameister or rotmistrz Pieczowski in 1645AD

this etching - dated to 1648-53 - , aside his beauty and artistic aspects,  is very  rich in the material cultural details, as it is most likely than not that the actual drawings drawn by della Bella, eg  in situ when our royal Polish ambassador's cavalcade entered Rome in 1633 , served as the source material for maestro Stefano. 

The embassy of 1645 - the royal  Polish ambassador's entry into Paris in 1645 - drawings held in the British Museum, and my posts about them here & here.

Fast forward to the period of wars in Polish Commonwealth -1648-1670s - and this artist Johann Hoffman of Nuremberg combined the original image by della Bella with the head and hat from Hondius. (Hondius' etching was done in 1650AD says this portal)

instead of the mace our king carries a nadziak (horseman's pick)

Also, this Nuremberg artists did not know the reins were not chains with links, but sort of little 'apples'-bells that when in motion created noise and jingle. (there are actual examples of such jingly reins in the Russian museum of Kremlin).

Finally, another artist made use of the della Bella's original -  Johann A. Boner, who created a mirror image by coping the original, with his limited skill and knowledge, and created a busy background for the images, consistent with the tittle.
This time the rider became a Tatar Khan with the Ottoman Turkish army in the background .

enjoy

Valete

A shield, lion pelt, & crane wings of ambassador's valet

 Salvete omnes,

today I prepared a sort of info-graphic, where we can learn and understand a little more about one of the riders in Stefano della Bella's print - Entry of Jerzy Ossolinski into Rome, AD 1633.

Perhaps in the future more this sort images will appear on my blog - what do you think, dear Net travelers? 

enjoy

Valete

Entry of the Polish Embassy into Paris, September 25, 1645 - della Bella

 Salvete Omnes,

 

In 2018 I posted, in Polish, about the entry of our king Wladyslaw IV Waza(Vasa) ambassadors to the French court in Paris - September 1645.
British Museum collection contains numerous art created by Stefano della Bella, including his drawings showing the entry of the Polish Commonwealth embassy into Paris.

 

enjoy these beauties

all rights - Trusties of British Museum

Valete

ps

amazing judgement by the International Court of Justice - the state of Israel and the plausibility of genocide committed, in violation of Genocide Convention,  in Gaza, Palestine.