Massimo Troisi n°2 Print

Another Massimo's drawing. In this drawing he's acting "Pulcinella" one of the most beautiful Neapolitan folk character. Pulcinella is often told as a cheerful mask, almost as an object of ridicule, but he is anything but ridiculous. Pulcinella embodies the Neapolitan plebs, the simplest man, the one who occupies the last place on the social scale, the man who, although aware of his problems, always manages to come out of them with a smile. He is called to represent the soul of the people and its primitive instincts, he almost always appears in contradiction, so he does not have fixed traits: he is rich or poor, he adapts to all trades in addition to being a faithful servant, here he is a baker, innkeeper, farmer, thief and seller of miraculous concoctions, he is bully or cowardly, and sometimes exhibits both traits simultaneously making fun of the powerful. The quality that best distinguishes Pulcinella is his craftiness, and it is precisely with his proverbial craftiness that he manages to find the ability to solve the most disparate problems that confront him, always in favor of the weakest at the expense of the powerful. Another of his famous characteristics is that of never being able to shut up and from this comes the expression "open secret" that is something that everyone knows. Pulcinella represents a character who has acquired all the symbols and meanings of the popular and peasant world and has brought to all the scenes of Italian theaters, and beyond, a repertoire full of movements, gestures, acrobatics, typical dances and rituals of the Neapolitan gestural code. In fact, they accompany him on the theater and carnival scenes: the broom, the horn, the cowbells, elements that for the Neapolitans have propitiatory and antidote value against the evil eye and the bad luck. To anyone who doesn't know him, I suggest seeing at least one of his movies. He's unique. Hope you like it.