Drie soldaten 1620 - 1664

Stefano della Bella made this etching, "Three Soldiers," sometime in the mid-17th century. In this small, precise print, della Bella presents us with three soldiers, each bearing the tools of war. Della Bella was working in Florence, at the court of the Medici. Italy in the 17th century was a place of constant conflict, and the need for professional soldiers to wage war created a whole industry of military expertise. The visual codes of military dress and bearing were very important, signifying the status and authority of the men who served in the armies of Europe. The artist here is concerned with conveying the details of clothing and weaponry that marked one soldier from another. What does it mean to make an aesthetic object out of military men? Della Bella perhaps found a kind of nobility in the arms and bearing of a professional soldier, but it's up to the historian to ask how the print serves the purposes of Medici power. To understand the print more fully, we might consult military records from the time, or even look at other prints and drawings by the artist.