The spinner

Domenico Pesenti was a fundamental protagonist in the Mantuan artistic scene, one of the most important in the development of Italian painting in the 19th century. During his long life, he brought together the influences of Tuscan art, a region he frequented for a long time, and that of Lombard painting, which aimed at interpreting the everyday dimension of life. He was a refined painter, his technique a perfect one, he never adhered to the Macchiaioli movement, though his work often makes use of a clear light able to accurately depict sensitive impressions. All his works are, in fact, the result of a complex balance of shapes and colours. The old spinner here depicted is both a paradigm of the human condition and a vibrant character who seems to sum up all the details of the room she is in. The red of her mantle and the white of the thread direct our attention to her face, in part emblem and in part concrete representation of female dignity.