Within the diverse body of work by Adolfo De Carolis (Montefiore dell’Aso, 1874 - Rome, 1928), wood engraving held a primary significance, to the extent that in his mature years, the artist dedicated a treatise to it (La xilografia, 1924). There were several reasons that led him to favour this ancient relief engraving technique, which had become technologically obsolete in his time due to the proliferation of photomechanical print reproduction methods. One of the reasons was its deliberately archaic nature: the deliberate “slowness” of a practice involving a wooden frame, a humble material that was closer to folk art and, ideally, to the people themselves. The potential accessibility of a wide audience to both types of prints, photomechanically reproduced as well as wood engravings, provided an additional impetus. De Carolis, in fact, embraced an idealistic view of aesthetic engagement that began to be theorised in the mid-19th century and was further developed in subsequent decades, particularly within the British context (from John Ruskin to William Morris). This perspective stood in opposition to the notion that the enjoyment of artistic beauty should be limited to a privileged few.
De Carolis’ woodcut production, however, began with a private portrait, not intended for public dissemination, dedicated to the woman who would become his wife a few years later, known as Lina or also as Portrait of the Fiancée. The woman’s name was Quintilina Ciucci (nicknamed Lina), and she was 17 years old in 1899, the year the portrait was executed. This is revealed by De Carolis himself in the inscription placed at the bottom of the artwork, which, when deciphered from the initials and translated from Latin, reads: “Quintilina Ciucci, at the age of 17, in the year 1899”.
The critic Silvia Zanini has thus explained the treatment of the subject, straddling two figurative traditions:
The figure of Lina frequently appears in De Carolis’ work, not only in portraits but also in frescoes and various types of illustrations. These depictions of hers have significantly contributed to reviving the reputation of Anticoli Corrado, the Lazio village where the woman was born, as a place inhabited by particularly attractive individuals who are often sought after by artists as models.