"Each animal reminds one terribly of certain men."

May 23, 2013 2:54 PM

Next to a beautiful, elegant woman, between the silky spirals of her train, on the back of a chair, in a dark angle in the background, he accurately painted, although almost invisible, the animal that recalled the face of the protagonist. He thus had a series of ladies and gentlemen from the squirrel, from the lizard, from the sea horse, etc.

From "The Real Face," by Guido Gozzano, "first and finest representative of the Crepuscolari, the poets of the Twilight."

(The translators are Anna and Evan Connell. Evan Connell is himself a Neo-Decadent writer of no small accomplishment.)

posted by Iridic (1 comment total)

Without any pictures of these paintings, I'm left to play with what animal I would put in the background of Guido's portrait.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 3:31 PM on May 23, 2013