Frontispiece, from Les Oeuvres de Scarron
1649
17th century
20.8 cm x 15.6 cm (8 3/16 in. x 6 1/8 in.)
Stefano Della Bella
(Florence, Italy, 1610 - 1664, Florence, Italy)
Primary
Object Type:
print
Artist Nationality:
Europe, Italian
Medium and Support:
Etching
Credit Line:
Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, Archer M. Huntington Museum Fund, 1981
Accession Number:
1981.93
The early realistic novelist and burlesque playwright Paul Scarron (1610-1660) was apparently well known also for his physical deformities. Concealing the writer behind a draped chair while he entertains a group (perhaps of his own characters), this unconventional frontispiece cleverly refers to the nature of both his works and appearance.