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Open 10:00–5:00

Visit
Open today 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Admission is always free

6th and Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC 20565

Sculpture Garden Extended Hours

Open late until 8:00 p.m. on select nights
Through September 5
Exhibitions & Events
America’s 250th

Celebrating American art and artists
Art & Artists
Open Call

Artists Reimagining the Collection
Meet the 50 makers selected from more than 1,600 submissions

Mercury Chasing a Satyr Holding a Book

Stefano Della Bella

Associated Names

Stefano Della Bella

Artist, Florentine, 1610 - 1664

This is a drawing of two mythical figures in a decorative setting. The central scene within an ornate, scrolling frame depicts two figures engaged in dynamic movement. One figure has the legs and tail of a goat and holds an open book raised high. The other figure is more humanoid and appears to be reaching out towards the figure with the book. Above them is a banner containing the Latin text "DABIS IMPROBE POENAS." The surrounding border features elaborate designs reminiscent of Baroque or Rococo styles.

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Artwork overview

Medium

etching on laid paper [restrike]
Credit Line

Transferred from The Library of Congress
Accession Number

1986.50.155
Catalogue Raisonné

De Vesme/Massar 1971, no. 909, State (restrike)

Artwork history & notes

Bibliography

1906

Vesme, Alexandre de (Baudi di Vesme, Alessandro). Le peintre-graveur italien; ouvrage faisant suite au peintre-graveur de Bartsch. Milan: Ulrico Hoepli, 1906, no. 909, (restrike).

1971

De Vesme, Alexandre, Phyllis Dearborn Massar.Stefano Della Bella. New York, 1971: no. 909, (restrike).

2001

Talbierska, Jolanta.AKWAFORTY ZE ZBIOROW GABINETU RYCIN BIBLIOTEKI UNIWERSYTECKIEJ W WARSZAWIE / Etchings from the Collection of the Print Room of the Warsaw University Library. Warsaw, 2001: no. I. 19.

Wikidata ID

Q74873843

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