Antoinette Bouzonnet-Stella Explained

Antoinette Bouzonnet-Stella was a French engraver.

Life

She was born at Lyons in about 1641, the daughter of Étienne Bouzonnet, a goldsmith, and his wife, Madeleine Stella (sister of the artist Jacques Stella).^[1] Her siblings included Antoine and Claudine Bouzonnet-Stella.^[2]

According to Joseph Strutt:

She made more use of the point than her sister [i.e. Claudine], and etched in a very powerful style. She harmonized the roughness, left by the aqua-fortis, with the graver, in such a manner as to produce a pleasing effect. She drew correctly, especially the extremities of the human figure, which she expressed with great taste.^[3]

She died in Paris at the age of 35 in 1676, having suffered a fall.^[2] A third sister, Françoise, was also an engraver.

Works

Her works include:

• Romulus and Remus suckled by a Wolf; after Antoine Bouzonnet Stella.
• The Entry of the Emperor Sigismund into Mantua; after a stucco frieze by Giulio Romano.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Dictionary of pastellists before 1800 (online edition). STELLA, Claudine Bouzonnet-. Jeffares, Neil.
2. Web site: Antoinette Bouzonnet Stella. National Museum of Women in the Arts. Washington, D.C.. 2013-01-29.
3. Book: Strutt, Joseph. A Biographical Dictionary Containing All the Engravers, From the Earliest Period of the Art of Engraving to the Present Day. 2. 339. 1786. Robert Faulder . London.