Les pêcheurs italiens

CLAUDE-JOSEPH VERNET (1714-1789) (from);

AMBROGGIO ORIO (1737-1825) (engraving)

Paris, late XVIII century.

Etching and burin on laid paper.

Just from margins to bottom and right.

In the past, few activities could be carried out during nighttime hours, and the presence or absence of the Moon was always taken into account. Fishing was one of those activities that were not affected by the arrival of nighttime hours. Given unreliable artificial light sources, the Moon allowed, although with difficulties, the manipulation of the gear.

In this scene, fishing seems to be the pretext to build a picturesque landscape, in which the Roman ruins are silhouetted in darkness under the faint light of a full moon that bathes the horizon with its clarity.