BOOK PRESENTATION: “THAT BEASTLY VENUS. TITIAN THROUGH THE EYES OF NINETEENTH-CENTURY ANGLO-AMERICAN WRITERS”
Titian’s Venus of Urbino sparked contrasting reactions among 19th-century Anglo-American writers. Nathaniel Hawthorne and Mark Twain viewed the famous female figure with unease, amidst a debate between those who saw her as merely a “nude woman” and those who recognized her as an ideal of beauty according to new Renaissance canons.
Through the accounts of writers, artists, and travelers, Rosella Mamoli Zorzi’s book explores the reception of Titian’s work in 19th-century Anglo-American culture, reconstructing often divergent opinions, impressions, and interpretations. From initial reactions to the Venus of Urbino to the writings of Henry James, from comparisons with Tintoretto to an interest in the painter’s life and the places associated with him, the volume captures the variety of perspectives on an artist whose fame had never truly faded into obscurity.
The book is completed by an anthology of accounts gathering comments and reflections on Titian and his works, offering readers an insight into the relationship between literature, art, and visual culture in the 19th century.
Rosella Mamoli Zorzi is Professor Emerita of Anglo-American Literature at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. In recent years, her work has focused on the relationships between Anglo-American authors and Venetian painters, as seen in Quasi un profeta. Henry James su Tintoretto (Supernova 2018), Meraviglia e ironia. Con Henry James e Mark Twain al Palazzo Ducale di Venezia (Supernova 2018), and Carpaccio e gli scrittori anglo-americani dell’Ottocento a Venezia (Supernova 2023). She has also edited numerous collections of Henry James’s letters in both Italian and English, including Letters to Isabella Stewart Gardner (2009). Among her most recent publications is An American Painter in Venice. Ralph W. Curtis and the Palazzo Barbaro, with an essay by Elisabetta Barisoni (Brill, 2024), an expanded and revised edition of Ralph W. Curtis, un pittore americano a Venezia (Supernova, 2019).
Melania Mazzucco is a novelist, essayist, and author for theatre and cinema. Winner of the Strega Prize in 2003 with Vita, she has published numerous novels translated worldwide, including Un giorno perfetto (2005), La lunga attesa dell’angelo (2008), and L’architettrice (2019). Her passion for art history is particularly reflected in her studies dedicated to Tintoretto, the collection Il museo del mondo (2014), and Self-portrait. Il museo del mondo delle donne (2022). In 2021, she contributed to the catalogue for the exhibition dedicated to Plautilla Bricci at Palazzo Corsini in Rome. Her numerous accolades include the John Fante Lifetime Achievement Award (2020), the Matilde Serao Award (2023), and the Boccaccio Prize for Literature (2025).
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