Plate 13: buffalo lying down, from 'Various animals' (Diversi animali) 1636 - 1646

Stefano della Bella made this etching of a buffalo lying down as part of a series of animal prints. Della Bella was working in Florence in the 17th century, a time when the Medici family were trying to establish the city as a new center of artistic excellence. This print presents the image of a buffalo in a way that elevates it to the level of fine art. The scene in the background is reminiscent of classical landscape paintings. The institution of the art academy, which was closely tied to the patronage of wealthy families like the Medici, taught artists to see the natural world through the lens of classical art. They were encouraged to idealize nature, not to represent it realistically. Prints like this would have been collected by wealthy connoisseurs as demonstrations of good taste and artistic skill. Historians use inventories of these collections to understand more about the social role of art in the past. By studying the ways that the art market and the academy shaped artistic production, we can understand the ways that social institutions influenced what art was made and who had access to it.