A Family of Shepherds at Night 1808

Bartolomeo Pinelli made this watercolor, A Family of Shepherds at Night, sometime between the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Pinelli was from Rome, and he dedicated much of his artistic production to images of the city and its surrounding landscapes. In this scene, we observe a shepherd family gathered around a fire. While the men wear hats, the woman wears a head covering which signifies her role as a mother. The tenderness of the maternal bond depicted in the image resonates with the era's emphasis on domesticity. Yet, there's also a sense of hardship conveyed through the family's weary postures and modest attire. Pinelli often depicted the lives of the working class, portraying them with a mixture of romanticism and realism. Shepherds were often figures of both strength and vulnerability, living on the margins of society. Pinelli's choice to center them in his art reflects a broader interest in the lives of everyday people, and suggests the cultural values placed on rural life. The piece allows us to reflect on the intertwined threads of labor, family, and identity that shape our understanding of both the past and the present.