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Acquajolo, a Seller of Drinks in the City of Naples

Bartolomeo Pinelli

  • Acquajolo, a Seller of Drinks in the City of Naples 2
  • Acquajolo, a Seller of Drinks in the City of Naples 3
Basic information
ID
Г-IV-1742
Author
Bartolomeo Pinelli
Name
Acquajolo, a Seller of Drinks in the City of Naples
Date of creation
1816
Technique
etching watercolour
Material
paper
Dimensions (height x width, cm)
10.3 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
This composition is from the Neapolitan series. The engraving is known in black and white version from the album Raccolta di Cinquanta Costumi li più interesanti 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 in Rome in 1816. In the foreground, one can see a tall young man, a seller of spring water (acquajolo), and a girl. He is pouring water for her from a metal jar into a glass, and she is standing next to him, holding a water tube with a lemon and looking at him as if appraising the young seller. Both characters are dressed in typical Neapolitan clothing. A young man wears a white shirt, red vest, knee-length blue pants, white stockings, and black shoes with overlays. On his head is a black hat decorated with a branch with leaves on top of it, and a yellow neckcloth is tied in a knot on his neck. There is a box on the seller's belt (probably with lemon or berries); a jar and glasses are in his hands. The young girl is dressed in a white dress, a yellow apron, and a long skirt with pink edging and floral patterns. On her head is a headscarf tied in a knot on the back; on her feet are light red shoes. She is carrying a round parcel (maybe with some linen or clothes). The action takes place in the city square, between the brick buildings of Naples, which are depicted in light ochre tones as if saturated with the southern sun.
Acquajolo was a street salesman or kiosk keeper in Naples who sold spring water from the mountains between Castellammare di Stabia and Salerno, situated south of Naples. Lemon juice or berries were added to the spring water. The seller kept the water cold in a metal jar. Acquajolo was a typical character in the streets of Naples in the 19th century.
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 Acquajolo, nella Città di Napoli. The number "35" is in the upper right corner above the plate.
Legal regulation
Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery

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