Collection

Man and Woman from Castellon in the Province of Terra di Lavoro in the Kingdom of Naples

Bartolomeo Pinelli

Basic information

ID: Г-IV-1701
Author: Bartolomeo Pinelli
Name: Man and Woman from Castellon in the Province of Terra di Lavoro in the Kingdom of Naples
Date of creation: 1816
Technique: etching watercolor
Material: paper
Dimensions (height x width, cm): 10 x 16.3

Additionally

Type: graphic art
Genre: genre art
Provenance: Collection of Faina Tarashchanska (Lviv), 1966

Information about author

Author: Bartolomeo Pinelli
Artist's lifetime: 1781–1835
Biography: Bartolomeo Pinelli (1781, Rome – 1835, ibid.) was an Italian painter, engraver, and sculptor. He was a son of the ceramist J. B. Pinelli. Bartolomeo Pinelli was born in Trastevere district (over the River Tiber). Street sketches of that western suburb of Rome repeatedly appeared in his graphic works later. He studied in Bologna, later on – at Accademia di San Luca (Academy of Saint Luke) in Rome. He attended the studio of Felice Giani, an Italian painter of the Neoclassic style, from whom he inherited the style of drawing. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, Bartolomeo Pinelli took an interest in the engravings of the Renaissance, namely in the works by Marcantonio Raimondi, and started making etchings and lithographs out of his drawings. In 1809, Pinelli created his first series of watercolor etchings – Collection of 50 picturesque costumes (Raccola di cinquanta costumi pittoreschi). The album was reissued in 1814 and 1815. In 1816, a new version of the album under the title Nuova Raccolta di Cinquanta costumi pittoreschi incisi di acqua forte was released. Most of Lviv's engravings are from this series. The main theme of the artist's creative work is genre scenes (Costumi), which he saw in Rome, Naples, as well as the provinces of Abruzzo and Molise. Pinelli's engravings have not only artistic value but also important ethnographic information. In the 1820s and 1830s, the artist created drawings and engravings for poems by Torquato Tasso (1827–1829) and the novel “Don Quixote” (1834) by Miguel de Cervantes. One of Pinelli's famous series of drawings is Seven Hills of Rome (Sette colli di Roma) (1827–1830). The artist's works are housed in many Italian museums as well as in collections of other countries.

Object description

The composition is known only in one version of 1816, which was issued in the album Raccolta di 50 costumi li più interessanti delle città, terre e paesi in provincie diverse del Regno di Napoli (Collection of 50 most interesting picturesque costumes from cities, towns and villages of different provinces of the Kingdom of Naples) published by Giovanni Scudellari in Rome in 1817. A similar smaller square engraving is dated from 1814. It is a foreground composition. Two people are depicted on a stony embankment – a noble young woman in traditional Neapolitan clothing is sitting on a high plinth, while a young fishmonger is standing in front of her offering his goods. The guy is dressed in a blue jacket over a red shirt, striped pants belted with a wide waistband; on his head he has a blue cap; there are slippers on his feet. The woman is pointing at his fish, apparently offering her price. The whole scene is taking place in the background of the city of Formia south of Rome, which the author named Castellone after one of the towers of this seaside city. However, on the engraving, one can see the tower of Mola, the other famous tower in Formia. The people’s clothing is painted with bright colors. The trees, water surface, and the view of the city are painted with dimmed colors.

Inscriptions

In the lower left corner there is the author’s signature – Pinelli, date – 1816. In the center of the engraving under the image there is the work’s title Uomo, e Donna di Castellone, della Provincia di Terra di Lavoro nel Regno di Napoli. There is a number "3" in the upper right corner above the image.

Man and Woman from Castellon in the Province of Terra di Lavoro in the Kingdom of Naples

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