In 1988 Daniele Del Giudice published the book Nel museo di Reims, that tells the story of Barnaba, a former naval officer close to blindness who decides to visit the museum of Reims in order to memorize paintings and, in particular, the copy of Jacques-Louis David’s The Death of Marat. Similarly, The Madonnas of Leningrad, a novel of the American writer Debra Dean, is focused on the story of Marina, an old woman suffering from Alzheimer’s disease who evokes, after sixty years, the months between the end of June 1941 and the beginning of spring of the following year. In that period, marked by the Nazi siege of Leningrad, she worked as a guide at the Hermitage and tried to rescued from oblivion the paintings – that had been already removed, as a precaution, from the rooms of the museum – recreating them in her own memory. Starting from the theming of the museum, the aim of the article is to examine, through a comparative reading of the two texts, some points in common, such as the literary representation of the museum in relation to the theme of memory and the narrative technique.
Pubblicato nel 1988, Nel museo di Reims di Daniele Del Giudice narra la storia di Barnaba, un ex ufficiale di marina prossimo alla cecità che decide di visitare il museo della cittadina francese per memorizzarne i dipinti, in particolare la copia di La morte di Marat di Jacques-Louis David. Nel 2006, con Le madonne dell’Ermitage la scrittrice americana Debra Dean sviluppa un romanzo intorno alla storia di Marina, un’anziana donna affetta dal morbo di Alzheimer, che a distanza di sessant’anni rievoca i mesi dell’assedio nazista di Leningrado, compresi tra la fine di giugno del 1941 e l’inizio della primavera dell’anno successivo, quando, lavorando come guida all’Ermitage, aveva provato a sottrarre dall’oblio i quadri rimossi per precauzione dalle sale del museo ricostruendoli nella propria memoria. A partire dalla comune tematizzazione del museo, il contributo cerca di indagare, attraverso una lettura comparata dei due testi, alcuni elementi di convergenza, come la rappresentazione letteraria del museo in rapporto al tema della memoria e al procedimento narrativo.
Musei narrati. Nel museo di Reims di Daniele Del Giudice e Le madonne dell'Ermitage di Debra Dean
Corinne Pontillo
2020-01-01
Abstract
In 1988 Daniele Del Giudice published the book Nel museo di Reims, that tells the story of Barnaba, a former naval officer close to blindness who decides to visit the museum of Reims in order to memorize paintings and, in particular, the copy of Jacques-Louis David’s The Death of Marat. Similarly, The Madonnas of Leningrad, a novel of the American writer Debra Dean, is focused on the story of Marina, an old woman suffering from Alzheimer’s disease who evokes, after sixty years, the months between the end of June 1941 and the beginning of spring of the following year. In that period, marked by the Nazi siege of Leningrad, she worked as a guide at the Hermitage and tried to rescued from oblivion the paintings – that had been already removed, as a precaution, from the rooms of the museum – recreating them in her own memory. Starting from the theming of the museum, the aim of the article is to examine, through a comparative reading of the two texts, some points in common, such as the literary representation of the museum in relation to the theme of memory and the narrative technique.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.