WHITE PENITENT – original 18th-century engraving, Italian confraternity

Original etching by Jacques-Charles Bar, hand-enhanced with watercolor.

France, circa 1780–1790.
Dimensions : 41 cm × 26 cm
Size : 16.2" X 10.2"
Condition : excellent – laid paper, intact margins, clearly visible plate mark.

Strange and fascinating representation of an Italian white penitent, an anonymous figure from a confraternity devoted to penance and mortification.
His entirely white habit, cinched at the waist with a rope, embodies the purity of the repentant soul — yet in the half-light of nocturnal processions, these hooded figures evoked rather walking phantoms, bearers of light and prayer for the dead.

The penitent holds a lit torch and a prayer book: symbols of spiritual vigilance, but also of expiation. In the narrow streets of Genoa or Florence, these silent processions, illuminated solely by the glow of candles, inspired devotion as much as fear.
It was said that these confraternities accompanied the dying, plague victims, and even those condemned to death until their final hour — clothed in immaculate linen to purify the souls they guided toward the beyond.

Work by Jacques-Charles Bar, an 18th-century French engraver known for his plates devoted to confraternities and religious orders across Europe.
Original etching impression, finely hand-enhanced with watercolor.
Clearly visible plate mark — evidence of an early impression printed on a hand press.
Provenance : private European collection.

A rare and expressive piece, oscillating between devotion and mystery.
A striking testimony to Italian popular piety of the 18th century — and a fascinating work for a cabinet of curiosities, a sacred art collection, or an interior inspired by the imagery of funerary processions.