Giacomo Ceruti, called Pitocchetto
Young Peasant Woman Holding a Wine Flask
circa 1737-38
Oil on canvas
49 cm x 39.5 cm (19 5/16 in. x 15 9/16 in.)
The Suida-Manning Collection

In an age characterized by the quantity and originality of genre painting, Giacomo Ceruti holds a special place, not unlike that of Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin. The specific origins of his style remain obscure, but they clearly lie in the Brescian school's long tradition of realism. Ceruti managed the occasional altarpiece and decorative project, but specialized in portraiture of both conventional sitters and anonymous subjects from the bottom and periphery of society. His works' great distinction is the unflinching record of appearance and the sympathetic response to personality. Initially, these essays in the human condition tended toward a hard edge, monochrome, and dry touch. After sustained exposure to Venetian painting in the late 1730s, his conception broadened, his palette admitted subtle color, and his handling loosened. Ceruti's works enjoyed great popularity with the noble families of Brescia and are rare today outside of Lombardy. This is a characteristic work from the time of Ceruti's activity in Padua. Presented according to the conventions of high portraiture, this peasant girl, her simple garments, and her heavy hands are bestowed a real dignity. At the same time, rendered without prejudice or condescension, her being seems thoroughly individual and unaffected. The remarkable daylight, modest hues, and generous application of paint then also become metaphoric. The painting anticipates not just the realism but the egalitarian political spirit of the next century.