Pazzo è colui che vive povero per morire ricco - C. Lasinio 1786

📜 Description
Original etching published in Florence in 1786 by Niccolò Pagni & Giuseppe Bardi, engraved by T. Nasi after a composition by Carlo Lasinio, taken from the series “Raccolta di quaranta proverbi toscani espressi in figure (...)”. The scene illustrates the Tuscan proverb “Pazzo è colui che vive povero per morire ricco”, presenting a solitary elderly man seated inside a sparse domestic interior, surrounded by modest furnishings and everyday objects. The composition transforms a popular moral saying into a narrative image, contrasting material deprivation with the obsessive accumulation of wealth. The protagonist occupies the visual center of the scene, while the bare room, the humble table setting, and the restrained gestures reinforce the ethical and didactic meaning of the proverb. The engraving reflects the late eighteenth-century interest in vernacular wisdom and moral instruction through illustrated print culture, combining theatrical narrative construction with the documentary immediacy typical of popular Tuscan imagery. The finely controlled etched line and balanced interior perspective contribute to the clarity and readability of the composition.

📚 Historical-Artistic Note
Carlo Lasinio was among the most significant Italian engravers active between the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, particularly known for his reproductive engravings and editorial projects connected to historical and artistic subjects. The series dedicated to Tuscan proverbs belongs to a broader tradition of moral and popular illustration intended to translate spoken wisdom into accessible visual narratives. The Florentine publishers Niccolò Pagni and Giuseppe Bardi were active in the dissemination of illustrated works aimed at both educational and collecting audiences, contributing to the circulation of engraved imagery linked to local cultural identity and vernacular traditions.

🧾 Technical Sheet
Type: original engraving
Author / Manufacture: Carlo Lasinio
Designer / Engraver: T. Nasi
Publisher / Printer: Niccolò Pagni & Giuseppe Bardi
Place: Florence
Period: 1786
Material: paper
Technique: etching
Subject / Title: “Pazzo è colui che vive povero per morire ricco”
Edition / Print Run: from “Raccolta di quaranta proverbi toscani espressi in figure (...)”
Dimensions: sheet 28.5 x 44 cm ; engraving 22 x 29 cm
Marks / Signatures / Inscriptions: engraved title below image ; author and engraver inscriptions in plate

🔍 Condition Report
Overall in very good condition. Some occasional foxing visible, consistent with age and paper type, without compromising the readability or visual balance of the engraving.