A seventeenth-century etching by Simon Guillain, depicting a street vendor carrying a basket of brooms, based on designs by Annibale Carracci.

This etching, plate 18 from the series depicting the street vendors of Bologna, captures a figure engaged in the trade of selling brooms. The work is based on designs by Annibale Carracci, whose observations of daily life in Italy provided the foundation for this series. Simon Guillain, a French sculptor and printmaker, executed the plates, translating the fluid character studies into precise etched lines.

The composition focuses on the vendor, who is depicted in a standing position, burdened by a large basket filled with various brushes and brooms. He holds an additional broom aloft, advertising his wares to passersby. The figure wears a simple cap and practical clothing, typical of the working class during the seventeenth century. The background is minimal, featuring a faint outline of a building and a suggestion of a rural or suburban setting, which keeps the attention firmly on the vendor.

Guillain employs a clear, linear style to define the forms. The hatching techniques provide volume to the figure and texture to the woven basket. The print reflects the interest in 'le arti di Bologna', a genre that documented the diverse trades and characters found in the city streets. By focusing on the mundane activities of a street seller, the work offers a glimpse into the social fabric of the period. The etching is marked with the attribution to Carracci as the inventor and Guillain as the engraver, a standard practice for such collaborative print projects. This piece is a fine example of seventeenth-century printmaking, demonstrating the technical skill required to capture human character through simple, effective line work.