Cavallo vincitore

Pietro Tacca, Il Porcellino (1633)


bronzo
Firenze, Museo Bardini

Guidi's Piglet reminds another famous pig, the Porcellino ("Piglet" in English) by Pietro Tacca, a bronze work realized in 1633. Tacca, an artist from Carrara, modeled his animal copying a hellenic statue: so, in a different way from the 19th and 20th centuries artists, the baroque sculptor does not copy from a real model, but from another work. Tacca's work was then placed in the Loggia del Mercato Nuovo in Florence, but was then removed, substituted by a copy and transferred to Museo Bardini, because in Florence there a tradition wants people to rub Porcellino's nose and to throw a little money in his mouth to have good luck: for this, the nose has sufferend some damages and now is completely polished.
Although the animals may be similar, the differences that separate them are enormous. First of all the animal by Guidi is a piglet, meek and humble, while the Porcellino by Tacca is actually a wild boar, an aggressive animal. Moreover, the piglet by Guidi is represented with the head down, while Tacca's boar has a proud and wild head that looks the observer. The body is resting, waiting for jumpig if the animal is defied or in danger. Two different animals for two different styles: the reserve of Guidi' style and the wish of amaze of the Baroque.

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A project by
Federico Giannini

Museo Ugo Guidi - Forte dei Marmi Museo Ugo Guidi
(Forte dei Marmi)

Associazione Amici
del Museo Ugo Guidi
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Humanities computing
Humanities
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University of Pisa

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Realized by Federico Giannini - 2008