Faustino Bocchi (Brescia, 1659 – 1741), The War of the Pygmies

Faustino Bocchi (Brescia, 1659 – 1741) The War of the Pygmies Oil on canvas, 45.5 x 61 cm With frame, 64 x 78 cm This peculiar and extravagant representation of a war between pygmies is attributed to the artistic work of the Brescian painter Faustino Bocchi (1659-1741). The Lombard origin of this artist only partially explains the choice to depict this type of work, which falls within that vein of bizarre and imaginative experimentation of which Bocchi, his pupil Albrici, and, going back in time, Arcimboldo are certainly a part. The other major influence that can be seen is that from the Flemish artists active in Italy during the 17th century, some of whom specialized in the representation of so-called 'bambocciate,' that is, works that aimed to depict scenes of everyday life of a popular nature, set in taverns, country festivals, or city markets. Unlike the followers of the school founded by Pieter van Laer, however, Bocchi has no realistic purpose and decides to fill his works with these tiny figures, definable as dwarves or precisely pygmies, intent on fighting, celebrating, or brawling in the most imaginative and unthinkable ways, thus giving the scenes a humorous and burlesque tone. The war motif, on the other hand, comes from a compatriot of Bocchi, namely Francesco Monti, known as the Brescianino of Battles (1646-1703), specialized in battle scenes but also linked to the genre of the 'bambocciate.' Further connections with Flanders are found through Angiolo Everardi, a direct pupil of Monti and from a Flemish family, thanks to whom Bocchi approached the genres of still life and especially genre scenes. The meticulousness, the details, the grotesque scenes became trademarks of Bocchi, whom many critics have compared, for imagination, meticulousness in small details, and bizarreness, to Hyeronimus Bosch. Although there is no direct contact with the works of the Flemish master, who lived more than a century before Bocchi, scholars have identified a common undertone in the interpretation of human vices through funny and extravagant creatures; if in Bosch this message appears evident, in the Brescian painter it must be sought with a deeper reading, since the scenes seem to be closer to a fairytale and burlesque taste rather than a moralizing and religious one, finding tangencies with the tales of Italian comic poetry. The style is immediately recognizable, as is the subject, of which there is an original by Bocchi, now in a private collection, which follows the same composition with the lizard, scissors, banquet, and background with the river and tower. Although the colors are less nuanced and clearer here, and the contour lines are more marked and evident, the characters and the entire composition are executed with scrupulous fidelity.