Primarily an illustrator and draughtsman, Bartolomeo Pinelli (d.1835) studied at the Accademia di San Luca and later at the Accademia Clementina, Bologna, before returning to his native Rome in 1800. There he sculpted works in the neoclassical style and particularly in the manner of his contemporaries Canova and Thorwaldsen. A follower of the then fashionable purist scool of sculpture, he executed small genre groups in terracotta, examples of which may be found in the Museo di Palazzo Venezia, Rome.

The present three groups by Pinelli were purchased by Peter Langford-Brooke whilst on his Grand Tour in 1831. Their payment is listed in the household accounts for 1st June 1831 as "$20 for molds and 12 Luigis for Pinellis three groups".