Italian Regional Costumes, Peasants of Rome and Abruzzo, Femme d’Ischia, c.1845

Italian Regional Costumes, Peasants of Rome and Abruzzo, Femme d’Ischia, c.1845

This richly detailed hand-colored lithograph, titled “Europe, Italie,” comes from the celebrated French series Le Monde en Estampes: Types et Costumes des Principaux Peuples de l’Univers, published in Paris around 1845–1850. The composition was drawn by Leloir, lithographed by J. Bocquin, and printed by the renowned Imprimerie Lemercier for publisher Amédée Bedelet. The series, with text by Élisabeth Müller, sought to depict the diverse costumes and customs of people across the world with both ethnographic precision and Romantic sensibility.

This plate presents a vivid tableau of Italian life, featuring figures from various regions and social conditions. In the foreground, a humble Lazzaroni (street beggar of Naples) lies prostrate, his cap discarded beside him, while a woman identified as Femme d’Ischia turns toward him in compassionate gesture, holding a rosary, an emblem of faith and charity central to Italian popular devotion. To the left, a Paysan des Abruzzes (peasant from the Abruzzo region) stands proudly with his traditional fur-trimmed vest and rustic gaiters, playing the bagpipe, while a Capucin monk and a Pèlerin (pilgrim) pass solemnly behind him, their attire marked by the scallop-shell badges of devotion.

In the background, framed by elegant pine trees and rolling hills, oxen draw carts along a rural road, where two paysannes de la campagne de Rome converse in colorful dress. Their clothing, white blouses, wide skirts, and headscarves, reflects the practical yet graceful style of Roman countrywomen. Beyond them, a faint skyline suggests the domes and distant walls of Rome, situating the scene in the pastoral outskirts of the Eternal City.

The composition captures the coexistence of piety, poverty, and rural vigor that characterized mid-19th-century Italy. Its nuanced balance between documentary realism and poetic atmosphere typifies the Romantic ethnographic art of the period. Each costume is rendered with care, the hand coloring emphasizing rich earthy tones, deep blues, and muted reds, highlighting the varied texture of fabrics and regional styles.

Plates like this from Le Monde en Estampes hold enduring value as both historical documents and works of art, portraying Italy’s cultural diversity before modern unification.

Condition report: Good impression with vivid original coloring. Some minor foxing and light toning confined to margins, image clean and bright with full borders.

Framing tips: Beautifully suited to an off-white or cream mat within a gilt or walnut frame. Alternatively, a dark olive or mahogany wood frame enhances the earthy palette and classical Italian atmosphere of the composition.

Technique: Hand-colored lithograph

Maker: J. Bocquin after Leloir, printed by Lemercier, Paris, circa 1845