Su su (or Peasant with a wineskin)

An autographed replica of the model exhibited at the 1883 Rome Fine Arts Exhibition, this small bronze was so successful that it was reproduced countless times over a long period. The small sculpture depicts a barefoot peasant boy, dressed only in a smock and baggy, worn trousers rolled up roughly on his left leg, attempting to lift a heavy wineskin to drink. Reflecting his training as a nativity scene artist in his father’s workshop and the influence Michetti had on him during the years he frequented the “Conventino” in Francavilla, the little peasant boy embodies the essence of Barbella’s poetics, which included a love of rural scenes treated with anecdotal descriptivism and a pure sense of reality. The work became part of the collections of the National Museum of Abruzzo in 2007.