Ciociara alla Croce - Bartolomeo Pinelli

A detailed etching by Bartolomeo Pinelli depicting a rural Italian family at a wayside cross, capturing the traditional dress and customs of the period.

Bartolomeo Pinelli was a prolific Roman engraver and illustrator, known for his documentation of the customs and daily life of the Italian people during the early nineteenth century. This etching, titled Ciociara alla Croce, captures a quiet, devotional moment in the Roman countryside. The composition features a mother holding an infant, accompanied by a standing woman and a kneeling child, all gathered before a wayside cross.

Pinelli employs a precise, linear technique characteristic of his work. The figures are rendered with clear outlines, while the surrounding environment is defined by rhythmic hatching and cross-hatching. The artist focuses on the traditional dress of the Ciociaria region, providing a visual record of regional attire that was of great interest to contemporary travellers on the Grand Tour. The scene is framed by a large tree on the right and a rocky outcrop on the left, which creates a natural enclosure for the figures.

Beyond the immediate foreground, the background suggests the rolling hills of the Lazio region, complete with a small, distant structure. Pinelli’s approach avoids excessive sentimentality, opting instead for a direct, observational style. His work provides a window into the social fabric of the period, documenting the intersection of religious practice and rural life. This print reflects the artist's ability to combine technical precision with a narrative quality, making it a representative example of his extensive output documenting the people of Rome and its surrounding territories.