“Biancone”: Giants, Dwarfs, and the Rise of a Popular Nickname
Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
3-16-2024
Department 1
Art
Abstract
Colossal statues like Michelangelo's David were often referred to as “il Gigante” (the Giant), a genre tied to heroic ancient traditions. One Florentine “Gigante,” Bartolomeo Ammannati's Neptune (1560–74) in the Piazza della Signoria, suffered criticism for its aesthetic shortcomings and acquired a popular nickname, “Biancone,” translated as “Big White One” (or “Giant Whitey”). This paper will trace its appearance in Lorenzo Lippi's Il Malmantile Racquistato (1676) where “Biancone” appears as an anti-hero, conquered and subjected to indignities. Lippi's work drew on earlier traditions that celebrated the vulgar, the grotesque, and the carnivalesque, pairing giants and dwarfs for comic effect. As statue and literary character, “Biancone” presents a colorful and humorous case study in the dynamics of Florentine public sculpture.
ISBN/ISSN
9789463728850
Recommended Citation
Else, Felicia. "'Biancone': Giants, Dwarfs, and the Rise of a Popular Nickname." in Giants and Dwarfs in European Art and Culture, ca. 1350-1750. Real, Imagined, Metaphorical, edited by Robin O'Bryan and Felicia Else. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2024.
Required Publisher's Statement
The book containing this chapter is available through the publisher's website: https://www.aup.nl/en/book/9789463728850/giants-and-dwarfs-in-european-art-and-culture-ca-1350-1750.