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 watercolour
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
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 composition is known only in one version of 1816, which was issued in the album Raccolta di Cinquanta Costumi li più interessanti delle città, terre e paesi in provincie diverse del Regno di Napoli (Collection of Fifty 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 dates from 1814. It is a foreground composition. Two people are depicted on a stony embankment – a noble young woman in traditional Neapolitan clothing sits on a high platform while a young fishmonger stands before her, offering his goods. The guy is dressed in a blue jacket over a red shirt and striped pants belted with a wide waistband; he has a blue cap on his head and slippers on his feet. The woman is pointing at his fish, apparently offering her price. The whole scene takes 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 colours. The trees, water surface, and city view are painted dimly.

Inscriptions

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

Legal regulation

Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery

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

Other