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CAVALLI ALL’ARATRO (HORSES AT THE PLOUGH) [1952]

While in the sow the subject was singular and in the ploughing the various characters were essentially independent of each other, here the scene directly involves all the protagonists, creating a particularly dramatic and dynamic overall effect.
The theme of the bolting horses allows Ligabue to express emotions of great intensity in his painting: the fear of the peasants raising their arms to the sky, the irrational and dangerous panic of the horses, and the feral aggression of the dog leaping towards them.
Three approaches alternate and coexist in the painting: a focus on the anatomy of the animal bodies, especially the horses; a caricature-like rendering of the human figures; and the use of schematic elements from popular prints to depict lightning and rain.
It is clear that, for the artist, the main protagonists are the animals. Perhaps they serve as an expression of his personal inner feelings, finding a form and a way to be released through them.

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ARATURA (PLOUGHING) [1934] 

Compared to the previous painting, the sow, in this ploughing we can see  new elements that reveal the gradual development of a painter.
The oxen, in particular, are depicted with notable complexity. They are no longer just horizontal silhouettes but are positioned with a sense of perspective. The careful representation of these animals contrasts sharply with the extreme simplification of the ploughman, the only human subject in the painting, aside from the carter in the background. Depicting the human figure in its natural context is certainly complex, especially for someone who is largely self-taught. Ligabue often approached this challenge in a simplified, caricature-like manner, except when it came to portraits, as we shall see.
In the background, the rural landscape begins to appear, the meticulous description of which will be one of our painter's distinctive features.

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SCROFA (SOW) [1930]

The Scrofa is one of Antonio Ligabue's earliest oil paintings.These were the years when Ligabue began to familiarise himself with this technique after meeting Marino Renato Mazzacurati from the Roman school. He was often resistant to taking Mazzacurati's advice and preferred to learn by observing him work in his studio.
You can tell this is a youthful work from at least two characteristics. First is the choice of support: not a classic canvas, the tool of an established painter, but simple plywood, which is cheaper and easier to find. Second is the way the subject is treated: with realistic attention but in a simplified, stiff, profile pose, almost like an illustrated silhouette in a children's book. Despite the minimal surrounding scene, there is a note of drama added by the large black shadow cast at the pig's feet.