Study of a dead elephant, 1655

About the Work

In this sheet, Stefano della Bella concentrated entirely on the dead elephant. In death the animal’s massive body has lost its greatness. On the contrary, its eyes closed, mouth half open, limbs stretched out on the ground, the imposing animal arouses sympathy. One of its hind legs has been propped up on a board, possibly to aid the escape of putrefactive gases as the carcass begins to decompose.