Roman carts

Roman Carts, painted in 1873 and held in Florence's Galleria d'Arte Moderna, depicts the heavy ox-drawn wagons characteristic of Italian agricultural transport in the nineteenth century — called 'Roman' carts in reference to their ancient, unchanged design. Fattori's interest in these vehicles reflects his sustained documentation of the Maremma and Tuscan countryside, where ox-carts remained the primary means of bulk transport. The pairing of oxen and wagon was a subject he explored repeatedly at different scales and in different landscape contexts, and the 1873 canvas represents a mature, confident treatment of the subject. The 'Roman' designation acknowledges the historical continuity of this form of transport, unchanged since antiquity.

Fattori renders the monumental bulk of the ox-carts with characteristic authority — their weight, the strain of the oxen, and the rough texture of wooden wheels and iron fittings all communicated through assured, economical brushwork. The palette is warm and earthy, the composition spread horizontally across the canvas to accommodate the lateral movement of the carts.