"La Signora Maddelena" a c.1790 etching and roulette in color by Italian master printmaker Carlo Lasinio (1759-1838) of Florence. This work is from a series published around 1790 called "Serie di 12 Ritratti di persone facete che servono a divertir el publico florentino" which translates roughly to; a Series of 12 portraits of facetious people who serve to amuse the Florentine public.  The series was published by Gaetano Calamandrei and printed in colors at the press of the Società Calcografica in Florence. The printed text along the bottom reads: La Sigra [ra superscript] Maddalena; Lasinio disegno e inc dal vero; In Firenze presso la Società Calcografica;  Gaeto Calamandrei impresso a colore.

The plate measures 15 7/8 x 10 1/8 inches, with margins the sheet is approx. 18 1/2 x 13 inches. It is printed in black ink and colors on ivory colored laid paper, retains nice wide margins. Aside from minimal spotting, tape skinning at top center and a couple of small thin spots on the reverse, it is in remarkably fine condition for its age. Rare item and historically important in the context of color printing.

In the U.S., this print is in the permanent collection of the Blanton Museum of Art and the Hood Museum.

Carlo Lasinio (1759 Treviso – 1838 Pisa) was a disciple and friend of Édouard Gautier-Dagoty and, like his teacher, experimented with color printing techniques. Lasinio taught for more than half a century as Professor of Engraving at the academy in Florence (1779–1835) while also being the Curator of the Camposanto in Pisa. In addition to creating an impressive number of reproductive prints, he busied himself with the printing of multiple colored mezzotint plates, a sophisticated printmaking technique that had been developed in London circa 1720/30 by Jakob Christoph Le Blon on the basis of Newton’s theory of color. This technique of multiple plate color printing was subsequently refined by the members of the Gautier-Dagoty family.