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Family of Ciociari on a Horse

Bartolomeo Pinelli

  • Family of Ciociari on a Horse 2
  • Family of Ciociari on a Horse 3
Basic information
ID
Г-IV-1747
Author
Bartolomeo Pinelli
Name
Family of Ciociari on a Horse
Date of creation
1816
Technique
etching watercolour
Material
paper
Dimensions (height x width, cm)
10.4 x 16.4
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
Country
Italy
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 was born in ​​the Trastevere district (over the Tiber River). He studied in Bologna and later at the Academy of Saint Luke in Rome. The artist attended the Academy of Felice Giani, an Italian painter of the Neoclassic style, from whom he adopted the drawing style. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, 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 watercolour etchings – Collection of Fifty Picturesque Costumes (Raccolta di Cinquanta Costumi Pittoreschi). The album was reissued in 1814 and 1815. In 1816, a new version of the album under the title New Collection of Fifty Picturesque Costumes (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 work is genre scenes (Costumi), which he saw in Rome and Naples, as well as the provinces of Abruzzo and Molise. Pinelli's engravings are not only of 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 and collections of other countries.
Object description
The work is from the Roman series. The first coloured version of the engraving was performed in 1815; later, in 1816, its black and white version was issued in the album Nuova Raccolta di Cinquanta Costumi Pittoreschi incisi all 'acquaforte da Bartolomeo Pinelli Romano, Nicola de Antoni impresse, Ignazio Pavon Offre e Dedica, Roma 1816. The next version (almost unchanged and similar to the Lviv engraving) was issued in the album Nuova Raccolta di Cinquanta Costumi Pittoreschi (New Collection of Fifty Picturesque Costumes), published by Giovanni Scudellari in Rome in 1817. A pencil drawing painted with watercolours was performed by Pinelli in 1815 under the title Famiglia di ciociari in viaggio (Family of Ciociari on a Journey). Another slightly modified version depicts three riders and a dog at the horse's feet, and the ride itself is taking place in the forest (the date is unknown; it may be an early version of 1809). The Lviv engraving belongs to a simpler version of the composition dated 1815. In the centre of the work, one can see three persons sitting on a light grey horse covered with a blue blanket, namely a young man holding a horse by the bridle, a boy depicted in front of the man and waving a tree branch, and a young woman from Ciociaria dressed in a bright national dress and leaning against her husband's back. The blue, yellow, and crimson colours of the characters' clothing highlight their figures. The action is taking place on a hill. In the foreground on the left, one can see a strong black tree on the hill. Right below, one can see a wide valley with trees and fragments of buildings depicted in blurred blue tones.
Ciociari are citizens of the region of Ciociaria situated south of Rome. The region became widely known in the middle of the 20th century due to the novel "La Ciociara" / "Two Women" by Alberto Moravia and the film of the same name by Vittorio De Sica.
Inscriptions
In the lower right corner, there is the author's signature Pinelli written in italics, the date – 1816, and the place of performance – Roma (illegibly). In the centre of the engraving, under the image, is the work's title, Famiglia Ciociara a Cavallo. The number "38" is in the upper right corner above the plate.
Legal regulation
Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery

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