Young Protagonists

... like the curly-haired peasant girl who watches us with a melancholy gaze. She’s sitting in the open countryside, and she holds the stick with which she leads the animals.

Unfortunately, at the time it was not unusual for children to do strenuous work, especially among the poorest sections of the population.

What did children do a long time ago in their free time? They are often delighted in reading illustrated texts, just like the two little girls in the painting who are leafing through a spelling book.

The cute paper hat worn by the girl on the left and the tambourine at the foot of the table make us understand that they also enjoyed playing and maybe singing refrains and songs.

For a painter, posing means staying still for a long time... The two children protagonists of Luigi Bechi's painting are well aware of this.

The children, dressed in the typical clothes of Ciociaria, were posing in the painter's studio; in fact, behind them you can see the painting just sketched on the canvas.

During the break the fun begins: the child, playfully imitating the ways of adults, wears glasses and reads a newspaper while holding it backwards while the girl looks at him amused.

Next to the children, the loving presence of the mother cannot be missing, who takes care of them, as in this painting by Cecrope Barilli.

Arnaldo, the painter's eldest son, is bedridden by a bad flu. Next to him there’s his mom, Anna, who brings him the medicine and looks at him with loving eyes.

Arnaldo stops reading the illustrated magazine and observes his mother. He will have to take the medicine, but from his expression we can sense the bitter taste.

In 1953 Luigi Froni worked on the construction of the funeral monument of Lina Maghenzani, an elementary school teacher and mother of Giovannino Guareschi, friend of the sculptor. Before arriving at the final result, the artist performed several tests.

"Il Capoclasse" (the class leader) is one of these studies. Froni portrayed the clean face of a child with a sad expression.

On the bust we read "A Giovannino Principe", that is Giovanni Guareschi.

After several attempts, he chose work entitled "The last of the class". The protagonist is Gramigna, whose real name was Ermete Bernardi, a young boy friend of Froni.

Gramigna wears an apron and a shoulder bag. From the pocket of the apron a sling comes out, as evidence of the child's carefreeness and his little dedication to study.

The shoes, one of them tied with wire and the other one with a lace, suggest the simple origin of the family.

The expression on his face is the incredulous one of a child who cannot understand the reality of death.