Study of a dead elephant, 1655

Blatt: 155 x 205 mm

Physical Description: Pen in brown over graphite, washed in grey

Inventory Number: 16827

Object Number: 16827 Z

Status: On display, Department of Prints and Drawings Exhibition Gallery

Texts

About the Work

On 9 November 1655, an elephant cow known all over Europe died in Florence. It was with all probability a beast called Hansken which had been brought from Ceylon to Amsterdam in 1633 as a gift to Stadtholder Frederick Henry of Holland. Stefano della Bella has succeeded in convincingly capturing the weight of the prostrate body. Passersby have gathered around the exceptionel animal and gaze at it with curiosity and amazement.

Work Data

Basic Information

Title: Study of a dead elephant

Draughtsman

Stefano della Bella

Period Produced

17th century

School

Baroque

Object Type

drawing

Physical Description: Pen in brown over graphite, washed in grey

Material

Technique

Geographic Reference

Florentine

Production Reason

animal study

Captions Added Later: Unten links Stempel der Sammlung Pierre Olivier Dubaut, Paris (Lugt 2103b); verso unten rechts Stempel des Städelschen Kunstinstituts, Frankfurt am Main (Lugt 2356)