As well as depicting these people differently in their clothing, their facial expressions and activities, Quadrone also presents the animals as individuals. 

The presentation of the theme Pulizia generale (General Cleaning) is a popular motif in the work of the genre painter Giovanni Battista Quadrone, who was known for his detailed and realistic execution and fine painting technique.¹ The work Pulizia generale which is also known as Episodi diversi in un’ osteria di campagna² combines his masterful painterly technique and style with narrative skills by making different character studies of humans and animals. 

Quadrone opens the view into an interior full of all kinds of equipment, objects, people and two dogs. In front of a wooden chest of drawers with various porcelain plates and a picture of a saint on the wall, three men sit at a table in the right corner. A musician with a hat and his wind instrument under his arm has approached them. The bearded old man in the background looks at the musician with interest, but also somewhat skeptically, while the younger man in a green jacket jokes with the musician. The third man in the red plaid shirt, apron and red cap, on the other hand, is suspiciously holding his hand to his chin and dragging his mouth down in a derogatory manner. In the various gestures and mimic studies, Quadrone shows the men’s different reactions to the musician, who approaches them, interrupting their card game to solicit a small donation for his playing. 

The woman and the man in the left side of the painting appear to give the title to the painting. They are the only ones who are cleaning, in opposition to the generally prevailing disorder in the surrounding space. While the man retouches the wall paint, the woman polishes metal pots and vessels. As well as depicting these people differently in their clothing, their facial expressions and activities, Quadrone also presents the animals as individuals. A dog lies floppily on its side and looks lazily into the void, while the second dog bends gracefully to nibble something lying on the ground - he thus does his part in the general cleaning process. Quite ironically, Quadrone turns to the topic of cleaning: while a wooden barrel is lying overturned on the floor, various picture frames are carelessly piled on top of each other, bottles, buckets, metal stands, brooms and smaller waste are spread all over the floor and across the room. The dead hare, by contrast, is the only thing that is properly - yet improperly - stored and hung over the crossbar. 

In further variations, too, Quadrone humorously deals with the subject of purification. In a painting that is also entitled Pulizia generale and painted in 1890, the title again applies only partially.³ The work presents a man and a woman; while the woman in the foreground is sitting on a stool and diligently scrubbing the pots and metal pan in front of her, the man in the background is doing nothing but dreaming. He sits on a table with his right foot placed on a wooden stool in front of him and enjoying his pipe. Relaxed, he loosely holds a long stick, which has a small broom attached to the front tip that would enable him to clean even remote corners. While the work of the Cerruti Collection depicts various activities and both man and woman are involved in the “housekeeping”, the smaller painting in the Galleria Aversa, measuring 29 x 22.2 cm, presents a humorous gender and role study. The man, unnoticed by the hard-working woman, mainly devotes himself to his “spiritual cleaning”, in order to prepare himself for the impending task of cleaning the house. 

Veronica Peselmann 

¹ In 1897 Quadrone was awarded the great gold medal in Florence (Turin 2002, p. 198). 

² Marini 1998, vol. III, no. 665; Turin 2002, p. 217. 

³ Pulizia generale, 1890, oil on panel, 29 x 22.2 cm, see Marini 1998, vol. I, pl. XXXV; vol. II, p. 571.