Masinissa en Sophonisba 1819

Bartolomeo Pinelli created this etching, entitled ‘Masinissa en Sophonisba’, in the early 19th century. It presents a scene from ancient history, laden with reflections on power, gender, and cultural identity in Pinelli’s own time. The image depicts Sophonisba, a Carthaginian noblewoman, pleading with Masinissa, a Numidian king allied with Rome. Sophonisba kneels, begging Masinissa to save her from being paraded as a prisoner in Rome. Pinelli, living in a Rome that was undergoing a revival of classicism under Papal rule, uses a neoclassical style to invoke the grandeur of the ancient world, but also to comment on contemporary social mores. Sophonisba's agency as a woman is constrained by the demands of both Carthage and Rome. Masinissa, caught between his love for her and his political obligations, represents the fraught dynamics of power and allegiance. To fully understand Pinelli's work, one might research the artist's biography, the history of Rome in the early 1800s, and the classical sources that inspired the image. By analyzing these elements, we gain a richer understanding of the artwork.