The ubiquitous logo of the oil and gas company Eni (Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi) was the result of a 1952 nation-wide competition and brainchild of sculptor, artist, and designer Luigi Broggini. He did not take credit for the design as he deemed it beneath him to participate in a commercial competition. But compete he did, and with the help of Giuseppe Guzzi, who formally presented the design, this mysterious creature became an instant sensation, symbolizing energy, past, future, power, and myth. Or as the Eni website puts it, “Metaphorically, the six-legged dog explores the relationship between man and nature with power, courage and nonconformity.”

Whatever that means. Broggini himself did not explain his creation, leaving it to the rest of us to interpret it through our own lenses of time and culture. Poet Emilio Tadini wrote a thoughtful piece on “The fable of the dog,” which you can read here.

#ARTMOMENT: An interpretation of Italian culture and history through the mind of an American.