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Man and Woman from the Village of Paganica in the Province of L'Aquila in Upper Abruzzo

Bartolomeo Pinelli

  • Man and Woman from the Village of Paganica in the Province of L'Aquila in Upper Abruzzo 2
  • Man and Woman from the Village of Paganica in the Province of L'Aquila in Upper Abruzzo 3
Basic information
ID
Г-IV-1753
Author
Bartolomeo Pinelli
Name
Man and Woman from the Village of Paganica in the Province of L'Aquila in Upper Abruzzo
Date of creation
1816
Technique
etching watercolour
Material
paper
Dimensions (height x width, cm)
10.3 x 16.5
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 Neapolitan series. An analogue of the Lviv engraving is not found in Pinelli's available albums. However, we can confidently assume it is included in the Neapolitan album dated 1816. The watercolour engraving by Alessandro d'Anna titled Costume del Paese di Paganica, Provincia dell'Aquila, Abruzzo Ultra served as a prototype of Pinelli's work; it was performed in the late 18th century. However, in contrast to the work of the Neapolitan artist, which was saturated with many different colours, the engraving of the Roman master is stricter and more balanced in both colour and composition. In the foreground, one can see young people, namely a man and a woman, each seeming to demonstrate their clothing. A woman is dressed in an elegant national costume of the Abruzzo region but not overloaded with colours. An important role is played by the geometric ornament on the dress, sleeves of the vest with cuffs, apron, and long skirt, under which red shoes with bows are seen. On her head is a flattop headscarf; on her neck are several strings of coral beads. The woman is holding a basket of bread covered with drapery and looking to the right at a man, who is carrying himself with dignity despite the more modest style of his clothes. He stays with a stick near a large boulder while a young beauty walks past it. The man is wearing a long blue camisole put over a red vest, knee-length yellow trousers, white stockings, black shoes, and a black hat – the typical clothing of a gentleman in the Kingdom of Naples. The action is taking place in the background of green trees, behind which one of the peaks of the Apennines is seen in the distance.
Paganica is a village (now a town) between the mountain ranges in the heart of the Apennines, near the provincial centre of L'Aquila.
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 centre of the engraving, under the image, is the work's title: Uomo, e Donna del Paese di Paganica, Provincia dell'Aquila, Abruzzo Ultra. The number "43" is in the upper right corner above the plate.
Legal regulation
Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery

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