I principii del disegno, Plate I, frontispiece

I principii del disegno, Plate I, frontispiece Putto with Drawing Instruments etching by Stefano Della Bella printed circa 1830. The watermark appears to be 'D Wilmot above 1828' Catalogue Raisonne: De Vesme 364. Piece is framed with plexi on the verso so that the watermark is visable.

inscribed in plate, center l.: PRINCIPII DEL DISEGNO; below on book: FATTI Per SDB; l.l.: S.D. Bella inuent. et fecit
plate: 13 x 16.1 cm (5 1/8 x 6 5/16 in.) sheet: 13.4 x 16.8 cm (5 1/4 x 6 5/8 in.)

The accomplished Florentine etcher and draftsman Stefano della Bella produced this drawing manual in France, where he spent over a decade of his career. The book, now disassembled, comprised 25 etchings and was published by della Bella’s principal French publisher Pierre Mariette.

Drawing manuals were common teaching tools for artists and amateurs learning to draw in the 16th and 17th centuries. It is a kind of pattern book for the aspiring draftsmen to copy, with concise prints depicting body parts—ears, eyes, hands, feet—and a range of head studies and figure types—children, adolescents, young women, old soldiers and saints—which provide models for students seeking to master the representation of the human body.