Communication with the purpose of culturally promoting artists included in the Fundación María Cristina Masaveu Peterson Collection, works protected by intellectual property rights. Their total or partial reproduction or processing by any means, or their transmission or cession in any form is forbidden without the authorisation of the holder of the rights to the works
Aldeanas de las cercanías de Roma
TECHNICAL DATA
Author: Eduardo Rosales (Madrid 1836 – 1873)
Títle: Aldeanas de las cercanías de Roma (Peasants near Rome)
Year: 1866
Technique: oil on canvas
Size: 111 x 76 cm
Just like other painters from the same period, during his time in Rome, Rosales felt a predilection for Italian archetypes, here represented by the figure of two peasants. They are probably from the outskirts of Rome, as Rosales himself indicated in the title, although the painting is also known as Neapolitan Peasant Women. The mother stands out starkly against a dark sky, painted in a sketchy, brisk way. Both are wearing earrings, and the woman has a coral necklace while the girl, who holds a cloth ball in her hand, is wearing a gold medal. The mother’s head covering is the lightest part of the composition. This figure resembles many other peasant women whose images were spread in the 1860s through photographs, which painters often used to create their compositions. However, the daughter’s posture and oval-shaped face are quite characteristic of Rosales. The execution of this painting is close to the language of French realism.
The work was displayed in Platerías Martínez in the show of the painter’s estate, but it was not auctioned and remained in the hands of his widow. Its whereabouts unknown since then, it came up for auction on 24 October 2018 in Balclis (lot 734), where it was acquired by the Foundation.