Sorbet seller and Neapolitan sweets seller 1823

Saverio della Gatta’s watercolor and ink wash drawing depicts street vendors selling refreshments in 18th-century Naples. This work offers insight into the social and economic life of the period. The artist was commissioned to document the costumes of the Kingdom of Naples. Here, the image is structured around the division of labor: men and women specialize in different products, while children assist in the preparation or promotion of goods. The image is also about the commodification of leisure and the increasing availability of ready-made food and drink to a broader public. We see not only vendors of sorbet and sweets, but also the tools and infrastructures required to make their business. Studying this image helps us understand how Neapolitan society was structured and how everyday life was experienced by different social classes. Prints, drawings and watercolors like this were collected into albums, creating new systems of artistic patronage.