Conversation in an alleyway 

Aurelio Tiratelli painted this scene of a Roman alleyway in oils on canvas. It is a slice of everyday life in the Italian capital. Here we see two women, one standing, the other sitting, perhaps in conversation. Chickens mill about on the steps. The scene’s casualness belies the fact that it was created in a specific institutional context: the art academy. During Tiratelli’s lifetime, the various academies of Europe encouraged artists to paint scenes of everyday life, including genre scenes of the peasantry. These images were meant to show an ‘authentic’ view of the country’s culture and were consumed by middle- and upper-class audiences. However, because the image is so naturalistic, it’s possible to read it as an attempt to represent the lives of ordinary people. The image asks us to consider the politics of representation. How does the artist’s social position affect the way they represent the world? Examining the art of Tiratelli’s time, as well as the history of the Italian art academy, helps us understand the painting as a historical object.