Vrouw uit Monomotapa te paard 1620 - 1664

Stefano della Bella created this small engraving, "Vrouw uit Monomotapa te paard," around the mid-17th century. The stark contrast between the lines and the white paper immediately grabs our attention. The artist uses dense, curving lines to build form, giving the horse and rider a sense of dynamic tension and baroque drama. The composition places the equestrian figure centrally, almost heraldically, against a backdrop of explanatory text. The image's symbolic power comes from its assertion of dominance and control. Della Bella employs hatching and cross-hatching to sculpt the volumes, creating a rich surface texture that defines the contours of the figures. This work presents a culturally charged image embedded with the signs and signifiers of its time. The tension between representation and reality underscores the complex interplay between visual artistry, cultural interpretation, and historical narrative.