Pandora by Beatrice Brandini
An image of Corto Maltese in the courtyard of the Palazzo delle Papesse in Siena
In view of the centenary of his birth and thirty years after his death, Siena celebrates the father of Corto Maltese, the extraordinary Hugo Pratt.
Hugo Pratt’s tables in the exhibition “Hugo Pratt. Imaginary Geographies”
This is the largest monographic exhibition dedicated to him (300 works) through drawings, sculptures, watercolours, videos and digital and immersive scenography, of extraordinary quality.
Hugo Pratt’s tables in the exhibition “Hugo Pratt. Imaginary Geographies”
Produced by Opera Laboratori, and curated by Patrizia Zanotti and Patrick Amsellem, the exhibition “Hugo Pratt. Imaginary Geographies”, inside the extraordinary Palazzo delle Papesse in Siena, celebrates Hugo Pratt, perhaps the most famous Italian cartoonist, one of the few to have achieved international fame; drawings and stories that have traveled around the world.
Hugo Pratt’s panel in the exhibition “Hugo Pratt. Imaginary Geographies”
Tribal masks in the exhibition “Hugo Pratt. Imaginary Geographies”
At the entrance to the Palais des Papesse is the imposing statue depicting Corto Maltese, created by the large workshops of Opera Laboratori, a faithful replica of the bronze one recreated by Livio Benedetti, a Franco-Italian sculptor, a friend of Pratt, which is currently housed in the Hugo Pratt square in Grandvaux.
Hugo Pratt’s tables in the exhibition “Hugo Pratt. Imaginary Geographies”
Hugo Pratt’s tables in the exhibition “Hugo Pratt. Imaginary Geographies”
Hugo Pratt was a curious man, his thirst for knowledge led him to collect over 17,000 books of every genre, format and era, a collection that certainly enriched his imagination. As well as his love for cinema, especially for westerns and films like Mutiny on the Bounty, which most likely inspired his passion for travel, for America and for the world of sailors, ideal backdrops for the extraordinary character of Corto Maltese.
An image of Hugo Pratt in the creation of Corto Maltese
Hugo Pratt’s tables in the exhibition “Hugo Pratt. Imaginary Geographies”
“This exhibition, the authors say, ideally wants to lead visitors through the seven doors that can be considered entrances and paths into as many worlds of the splendid imagination of Hugo Pratt”.
“Pratt makes his nostalgia for literature, and ours, into the material of adventurous narration”. Umberto Eco
Two images from our “Hugo Pratt. Imaginary Geographies”
Hugo Pratt: a tribute to adventure and fantasy
Cited by great contemporary creatives such as Tim Burton, Paolo Conte, Woody Allen, Frank Miller… his works have been exhibited in the greatest museums in the world, from the Grand Palais to the Beaubourg in Paris, from the Vittoriano in Rome, to Palazzo della Scala in Siena.
Statue of Corto Maltese at the entrance of the Palazzo delle Papesse and Hugo Pratt observing it
Signed lithograph by Hugo Pratt
Maltese poster by Hugo Pratt
A glimpse of the wonderful Piazza del Campo in Siena.
In 2013 I had already dedicated a post to this great artist (if you want to recover it this is the link https://www.beatricebrandini.it/hugo-pratt-corto-maltese-the-pea-coat/?lang=en), recognizing, beyond the extraordinary artistic talent, a modernity that still today, and every time, amazes me.
Long live Corto Maltese, long live those who with their art know no boundaries, just like Hugo Pratt.
Good life to everyone!
Beatrice