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| Stefano della Bella Title page for collection Ornamenti o Grottesche Ornamental and Grotesque Inventions ca. 1653 etching Metropolitan Museum of Art |
"I was disturbed by the wildest dreams. I thought I saw Elizabeth, in the bloom of health, walking in the streets of Ingolstadt. Delighted and surprised, I embraced her; but as I imprinted the first kiss on her lips, they became livid with the hue of death; her features appeared to change, and I thought that I held the corpse of my dead mother in my arms; a shroud enveloped her form, and I saw the grave-worms crawling in the folds of the flannel. I started from my sleep with horror; a cold dew covered my forehead, my teeth chattered, and every limb became convulsed: when, by the dim and yellow light of the moon, as it forced its way through the window shutters, I beheld the wretch – the miserable monster whom I had created."
– from Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (1818)
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| Stefano della Bella Ornamental arrangement of armour and horse-heads 17th century drawing Metropolitan Museum of Art |
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| Stefano della Bella Girl holding up a hare ca. 1653 etching Metropolitan Museum of Art |
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| Wenceslaus Hollar Portrait of Stefano della Bella 1649 etching Metropolitan Museum of Art |
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| Stefano della Bella Five groups of acrobats 1652 etching Metropolitan Museum of Art |
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| Stefano della Bella Two children embracing ca. 1662 etching Metropolitan Museum of Art |
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| Stefano della Bella The genius of drawing 17th century drawing Metropolitan Museum of Art |
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| Stefano della Bella Three standing figures in antique costumes 17th century drawing Metropolitan Museum of Art |
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| Stefano della Bella Five men, half-length 1640s drawing Metropolitan Museum of Art |
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| Stefano della Bella A Procession 1640s drawing Metropolitan Museum of Art |
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| Stefano della Bella Two figures on horseback followed by a soldier on foot 17th century drawing Metropolitan Museum of Art |
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| Stefano della Bella Design for a sleigh in the shape of a griffin 17th century drawing Metropolitan Museum of Art |
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| Stefano della Bella Design for cartouche 17th century drawing Metropolitan Museum of Art |
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| Stefano della Bella Tree-house at Pratolino ca. 1653 etching Metropolitan Museum of Art |
I am grateful for the excellent reproductions from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.