Fantastic Landscape with a Man Drinking from a Stream c. 1650s

Bartolomeo Biscaino made this drawing in pen and brown ink on paper in the mid-seventeenth century. It depicts a man drinking from a stream within a vast landscape. Biscaino was working in Genoa, a major port city in Italy at the time. Genoa was a republic, ruled by a small circle of wealthy families. Biscaino’s art reflects the tastes of this elite class, who favored idealized landscapes. The imagery of the humble man drinking freely from nature's bounty may have served as a subtle commentary on the social inequalities of the time. While outwardly picturesque, it subtly critiques the established order. To fully understand this drawing, we can turn to period sources, such as economic surveys and social commentaries that shed light on the complex power dynamics within the Genoese Republic. Art history thrives on this kind of contextual research, revealing how art engages with the social and institutional forces of its time.