Savoyarde, am Boden liegend 1840

Carl Werner’s watercolor, Savoyarde, am Boden liegend, made in Rome in 1840, presents us with a reclining Savoyard, a resident of the Savoy region in the French Alps. The image constructs meaning through various visual and cultural references, placing the figure within a specific social context. Werner, a German artist working in Italy, captures the Savoyard as a type, an ethnic category that would have been familiar to his central European audience. His dress, the hat, and the suggestion of poverty align him with popular stereotypes of the rural poor. What is the public role of this image? It offers a picturesque view of poverty. Understanding this artwork requires us to look at the way European artists have historically represented rural populations. Through such historical investigation, the meaning of art can be understood as contingent on its social and institutional context.