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Collection

Man and Women from the Village of Civitavecchia in the Province of Contrado di Molise

Bartolomeo Pinelli

  • Man and Women from the Village of Civitavecchia in the Province of Contrado di Molise 2
  • Man and Women from the Village of Civitavecchia in the Province of Contrado di Molise 3
Basic information
ID
Г-IV-1745
Author
Bartolomeo Pinelli
Name
Man and Women from the Village of Civitavecchia in the Province of Contrado di Molise
Date of creation
1816
Technique
etching watercolor
Material
paper
Dimensions (height x width, cm)
10 x 16.2
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 the son of the ceramist G. B. Pinelli. Bartolomeo Pinelli was born in ​​the 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 Academy of Felice Giani, an Italian painter of the Neoclassic style, from whom he inherited the drawing style. 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 the Lviv engravings are from this series. The central 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 carry 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 work is from the Neapolitan series. The composition is known from the album Raccolta di 50 costumi li più interesanti delle città, terre e paesi in provincie diverse del Regno di Napoli disegnati ed incisi all'acquaforte da Bartolomeo Pinelli Romano (Collection of 50 most interesting picturesque costumes from cities, towns and villages of different provinces of the Kingdom of Naples) published in Rome in 1816. Previously in 1814, the engraving was issued in the album of the same name, but it was in a square frame. A young woman is depicted in festive clothing; she is carrying an Easter basket in her hands. She met a playing guitarist who was sitting on a huge boulder on the church road; his dog was depicted standing nearby. The girl is wearing a yellow and pink dress, a light ornamented apron; her head is covered with a headscarf; on her feet there are red shoes. A man is dressed in blue clothing, there is a black hat on his head, on his feet there are black shoes with blue tops similar to jackboots. On the stone next to him there is a stick and a bright red drapery that covers some objects, attracting the viewer's attention. The action is taking place on one of the hills. Low trees, a mountain range and clouds in the sky serve as the background of the composition. Civitavecchia is a mountain village in the province of Molise (it must not be confused with the Roman port of the same name).
Inscriptions
In the lower right corner there is the author’s signature Pinelli written in italics, date – 1816, and the place of performance – Roma (illegibly). In the center of the engraving under the image there is the work’s title Uomo, e Donna del’ Paese di Civitavecchia, Provincia Contrado di Molise. There is a number "36" in the upper right corner above the plate.

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