They were artists who fused in their comic artistry the mercantile mentality acquired as bell-makers, blacksmiths, candle-makers, and the like

In the second capitolo the diminutive prevails

groups are both attracted and repulsed by lower social class embodied by the peasant. Although mainstream criticism (e.g., Ulysse) considers Strascino, along with figures like Legacci and Mescolino, to be among the pre-Rozzi, or precursor of the ‘Congrega dei Rozzi,’ established in Siena in 1531, Valenti rejects that label for artists like Campani, Stricca Legacci, or Mescolino. She prefers to define them as ‘comici artigiani’ since she believes that the ‘comici’ acted before but also simultaneously with the Rozzi. For a complete discussion of the sociocultural scene that subtends the artistic activity of the pre-Rozzi, see Ulysse. As Valenti informs us, Strascino spent some time entertaining the court of Mantua for Carnival celebrations of 1521. In fact, it was Isabella d’Este’s son Federico Gonzaga who instructed Castiglione to obtain the pope’s permission for Strascino’s trip to Mantua (51). Valenti believes that the ‘comici artigiani’ entertained in an area including Siena, Rome, Ferrara, and other ‘corti padane.’ Strascino is the author of some comic poetry, but is best known for his eclogues or ‘farse villanesche,’ a form of comedy where laughter originates from the clash of peasant characters with urban middle-class citizens or characters of the pastoral genre. Continue reading “They were artists who fused in their comic artistry the mercantile mentality acquired as bell-makers, blacksmiths, candle-makers, and the like” »

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