# Bartolomeo Pinelli artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/bartolomeo-pinelli/
Profile generated: 2026-05-05T04:11:00.093Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1781-11-20
- Death date: 1835-04-01
- Nationality: Italian
- Common media: etching, engraving, lithography, watercolor, painting, sculpture, drawing

## About Bartolomeo Pinelli

Bartolomeo Pinelli (1781–1835) was an Italian painter, engraver, sculptor, and illustrator active in Rome during the early nineteenth century. Trained and working primarily in the Papal States, Pinelli built his reputation as a versatile graphic artist skilled in etching, engraving, lithography, watercolor, and drawing. His career spanned roughly three decades, from about 1800 until shortly before his death in 1835. Pinelli is recorded across major international authority files including the Getty Union List of Artist Names, the Library of Congress Name Authority File, VIAF, and the RKD, all of which confirm his identity as a Rome-based Italian multi-disciplinary artist. Collectors encounter his work most often through the print and illustration market, where his etchings and engravings appear with regularity at auction houses worldwide.

## Common works and media

Pinelli's most commonly encountered works include etchings and engravings on paper, often depicting Roman life, Italian costumes, and scenes from classical literature. He also produced lithographs, watercolors, drawings in pen and ink or wash, oil paintings, and sculptural works. Collectors may find individual prints, bound illustration series, and occasional drawings or watercolors at auction.

## Market and appraisal context

Bartolomeo Pinelli's work has a well-established and liquid auction history spanning over three decades, with 253 recorded lots and 148 priced results dating from 1994 through April 2026. His prints and works on paper trade regularly at major and mid-tier auction houses worldwide, including Christie's, Sotheby's, Bonhams, Tajan, Finarte, Cambi Casa d'Aste, Gonnelli Casa d'Aste, Bertolami Fine Art, Gliubich Casa d'Aste, and Auktionshaus Schwab. The price distribution is wide: the median realized price is €600, with an interquartile range of €150–€1,500 and a ceiling of €36,000. Individual etchings and engravings typically realize between €50 and €500, while drawings, watercolours, and double-sided compositional studies can reach into the thousands. The top recent result was a double-sided drawing from 1807 depicting Marcus Furius Camillus liberating Rome from the Gauls, which sold at Freeman's for $8,500 in November 2025. A bound illustrated Aeneid (L'Eneide di Virgilio) realised €1,000 at DAMS Casa d'Aste in September 2025, and a group of episodes from Greek antiquity brought €3,500 at Cambi Casa d'Aste in December 2025. Liquidity remains healthy: 11 lots appeared in the most recent 12-month window, down from 20 in the prior 12 months, indicating a cooling but still active market. The majority of lots are etchings, hand-coloured engravings, and drawings depicting Roman costumi, classical literary scenes, and Italian topography.

## Auction-house-backed market evidence

Bartolomeo Pinelli's work has a well-established and liquid auction history spanning over three decades, with 253 recorded lots and 148 priced results dating from 1994 through April 2026. His prints and works on paper trade regularly at major and mid-tier auction houses worldwide, including Christie's, Sotheby's, Bonhams, Tajan, Finarte, Cambi Casa d'Aste, Gonnelli Casa d'Aste, Bertolami Fine Art, Gliubich Casa d'Aste, and Auktionshaus Schwab. The price distribution is wide: the median realized price is €600, with an interquartile range of €150–€1,500 and a ceiling of €36,000. Individual etchings and engravings typically realize between €50 and €500, while drawings, watercolours, and double-sided compositional studies can reach into the thousands. The top recent result was a double-sided drawing from 1807 depicting Marcus Furius Camillus liberating Rome from the Gauls, which sold at Freeman's for $8,500 in November 2025. A bound illustrated Aeneid (L'Eneide di Virgilio) realised €1,000 at DAMS Casa d'Aste in September 2025, and a group of episodes from Greek antiquity brought €3,500 at Cambi Casa d'Aste in December 2025. Liquidity remains healthy: 11 lots appeared in the most recent 12-month window, down from 20 in the prior 12 months, indicating a cooling but still active market. The majority of lots are etchings, hand-coloured engravings, and drawings depicting Roman costumi, classical literary scenes, and Italian topography.

### Appraisal notes

When Appraisily appraises a Bartolomeo Pinelli work, the appraiser will use these auction records as comparable evidence alongside clear photographs, measured dimensions, identification of the medium (etching, engraving, lithograph, watercolour, pen-and-ink drawing, or oil painting), signature or inscriptions, paper condition (foxing, tears, margins, plate marks, impression quality), provenance documentation, and edition or series details. Prints from Pinelli's known series—such as the costume plates, scenes from the Aeneid, or episodes from Greek and Roman history—are directly comparable to the 148 priced lots in the Appraisily auction record index. Drawings and watercolours, which are less common, are benchmarked against the fewer high-end results (e.g., the $8,500 Freeman's drawing). The appraiser will adjust for currency (EUR vs USD), condition relative to the comparables, and whether the work is a single sheet, part of a bound volume, or a mixed lot. Attribution confidence is also addressed: unsigned or loosely documented works will be flagged for specialist review before a value conclusion is reached.

### Valuation factors

- Medium is the primary value driver: individual etchings and engravings typically sell in the €50–€500 range, while original drawings and watercolours can reach €1,000–€8,500+
- Impression quality and paper condition are critical for prints; foxing, trimmed margins, or poor impressions materially reduce value
- Subject matter affects desirability: classical literary scenes (Aeneid, Greek antiquity), Roman costumi, and historical compositions attract stronger bidding than generic or mixed lots
- Series completeness and format matter: bound illustrated volumes (e.g., L'Eneide di Virgilio) and coherent plate groups command premiums over single detached sheets
- Hand-colouring versus plain impressions can influence price, as seen in the Gliubich and Concept Art Gallery lots
- Provenance and attribution confidence are important; Pinelli's prolific output means many works circulate as attributed rather than firmly signed, requiring specialist examination
- Currency and auction house tier affect realised prices: results from Christie's, Sotheby's, and Bonhams carry different buyer-premium structures than Italian regional houses
- Double-sided drawings and preparatory studies are rare and command materially higher prices than finished prints

### Collector notes

- Pinelli etchings and engravings are accessible entry points for collectors of early-nineteenth-century Italian graphic art, with most individual prints available in the low hundreds of euros at auction. If you are buying, prioritise strong impressions with full margins, clear plate marks, and minimal foxing. Hand-coloured examples and sheets from identifiable series (costumi, Aeneid illustrations) tend to hold value better than mixed or generic lots. If you own a drawing or watercolour by Pinelli, it may be worth significantly more than a print—consider obtaining a specialist attribution opinion, especially for unsigned works. Sellers should note that recent liquidity has softened slightly (11 lots in the past 12 months versus 20 in the prior period), so timing and realistic reserve pricing are important. Major Italian houses such as Cambi, Gonnelli, and Bertolami are the most active venues for Pinelli material, followed by international houses including Christie's, Sotheby's, Bonhams, and Freeman's in the United States.

### Market caveats

- Pinelli was a prolific printmaker; the high lot count (253) reflects volume of output, not necessarily rarity of individual works. Many etchings are relatively common at auction.
- The price range (€6–€36,000) is extremely wide; the upper bound likely represents an exceptional painting, sculpture, or historically important drawing rather than a typical print result.
- Attribution of unsigned or loosely documented works requires specialist examination. Several recent lots are described only as mixed lots or attributed works.
- Auction results include both EUR and USD denominations; direct price comparisons should account for currency conversion at the sale date.
- The decline from 20 lots in the previous 12 months to 11 in the most recent 12 months may reflect normal market variation rather than a structural shift, but the sample is small.
- Not all lots have published realised prices; 105 of 253 lots lack price data, which may introduce selection bias into the price distribution statistics.
- Market data is derived from Appraisily's auction record index sourced from public auction feeds and should be supplemented with specialist consultation for insurance, estate, or tax appraisal purposes.

### Market evidence sources

- Appraisily auction record index: https://appraisily.com/api/scraper-search/artists/bartolomeo-pinelli/seo-profile?recentLimit=24&relatedLimit=0
- Invaluable (Freeman's): https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-bartolomeo-pinelli-italian-1781-1835-lucius-junius-condemning-todeath-his-sons-titus-and-tiberius-a-compositional-study-1807-a-double-sided-drawing-21-c-d904d11207
- Invaluable (Freeman's): https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-bartolomeo-pinelli-italian-1781-1835-marcus-furius-camillus-liberating-rome-from-the-gauls-a-compositional-study-of-the-same-subject-1807-a-double-sided-drawing-20-c-d904cac52f
- Invaluable (Blue Box Auction Gallery): https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-bartolomeo-pinelli-italian-landmarks-14-c-25b4546ada
- Invaluable (DuMouchelles): https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-bartolomeo-pinelli-italian-1781-1835-copper-engravings-on-paper-romolo-e-remo-allattati-dalla-lupa-e-scoperti-dal-pastore-faustolo-3-pcs-1247-c-30349ddb6e

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine artist identity research from authority files and institutional sources with auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. For Bartolomeo Pinelli, identity data is drawn from the Getty ULAN, Library of Congress, VIAF, RKD, and Wikidata records.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q809510
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartolomeo_Pinelli
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500030127
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/69199106/
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n50010301
- RKD: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/63600