An etching depicting the mythical land of Cuccagna (Cockaigne), a place of abundance and excess where laziness and greed were rewarded. During the sixteenth century Cuccagna became a popular subject in literature and visual art, as well as in theatre and popular celebrations, especially in Italy. Nelli's print shows many of the sights in Cuccagna. The mountain of grated cheese in the upper centre spews forth macaroni and ravioli, next to which can be found "artichokes all year round" (Carciofi freschi d'ogni tempo trovasi). At upper left, plucked game rains from the sky and delicious marzipan and pastries sprout along the roads. At the right is a sea of Greek wine. When the celebrations become too much, participants can sleep between silk sheets in the palace in the centre of the image. As shown in the lower centre, those found working are taken to prison, and at the left, figures representing envy and shame amongst others are desperate to cross the river to Cuccagna, but instead face the prospect of death. Each scene is accompanied by a short explanation and there are 17 lines of doggerel at lower right. This print is lettered throughout. On the plaque in the lower right corner: "Quest'é um paese d'altro, che Alamagna / Doue si sguazza a' l'hosteria pagando. / Quiui si da buon tempo ogun mangiando. / Senza dinari, e chiamasi CVCAGNA ... / Nciolo Nelli. V.F. 1564".

This print is inlaid in folio 42 of the Dutch Drolls album (RCIN 970362). This album originally contained 99 prints on 72 folios, with the prints numbered 1-99 in pencil in a nineteenth-century hand on the mount sheet above each print. A number of other prints were added later, mostly on the versos of the existing sheets and on two additional folios at the end of the album (fols 73-74), probably during the nineteenth century.

 

For more information see Mark McDonald, The Print Collection of Cassiano dal Pozzo. I: Ceremonies, Costumes, Portraits and Genre, 3 vols, Royal Collection Trust 2017, part of The Paper Museum of Cassiano dal Pozzo: A Catalogue Raisonné, cat. no. 416.