Vintage in the Mountains near Rome, 1808

Bartolomeo Pinelli made this watercolor, "Vintage in the Mountains near Rome," using paper, watercolor, and ink. It depicts the annual grape harvest, with the figures adorned in the traditional garments of the Roman countryside. Though seemingly simple, watercolor is a medium that demands particular skill, as it requires the artist to work with the material rather than against it. Pinelli would have had to consider the absorbency of the paper and the ways the pigments would interact with the surface. The quick, sure lines of the figures suggest confidence, but also that the artist has to be spontaneous, and not overworked. The rapid application and thinness of the washes gives the scene a snapshot-like quality. While this is presented to us as a picturesque scene, it also illustrates the labor involved in agriculture and viniculture. We can think of the workers as active participants in a broader system of production and consumption. Pinelli elevates the status of labor, and asks the viewer to reconsider the inherent value in material and process.