Herder met drie runderen in een landschap 1620 - 1664

Stefano della Bella made this print of a herder with three cattle, sometime in the mid-17th century. It's a simple etching, made by drawing with a sharp needle through a waxy ground on a copper plate, which is then bitten with acid. Notice the extraordinary economy of line. Della Bella is only using the essential marks needed to describe the animals and the figure – and the animals are really the point here. The way he renders the reclining ox at the front, with tight hatching, gives a real sense of weight. You can see similar marks used to give depth to the coat of the standing ox. This kind of printmaking was crucial to the development of modern capitalism. Not only was it relatively inexpensive to produce, it was also easy to disseminate. Images like this could reach a wide audience, creating a common visual culture. Here, Della Bella gives us a glimpse into the pastoral life that was increasingly idealized as Europe urbanized and industrialized.