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The Re-Use of Arthur Rackham's Illustrations in Dino Buzzati's Early Fiction

2011; Edinburgh University Press; Volume: 8; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.3366/ccs.2011.0008

1750-0109

Valentina Polcini,

Historical and Literary Analyses

The Italian artist and novelist Dino Buzzati’s love for the art of Arthur Rackham can be traced back to his teens. Buzzati discovered Rackham’s illustrations almost by chance. On one of the several Sunday afternoons he spent with his schoolmate and lifelong friend Arturo Brambilla, he came across an art publication owned by Arturo’s father which had reproductions of some drawings by Rackham. They were astonished by his ability to represent mysterious atmospheres, haunted houses, fairytale creatures and scenes. Upon seeing this, Buzzati remembered he had seen similar images in a book in his family’s library but to which he had not paid much attention at the time: it was the 1905 edition of Washington Irving’s Rip Van Winkle (1820), enriched with fifty-one fullpage colour plates by Rackham. 2 He ran home, located the volume and, as he recalled many years later in the introduction he wrote to Brambilla’s diary, was greatly impressed: ‘A distanza di quasi cinquant’anni mi metto di tanto in tanto a sfogliare il vecchio volume e confesso di non trovare eccessivamente ridicoli quegli antichi entusiasmi.’ 3 (After nearly fifty years, from time to time I turn the pages of that old volume and I must confess that I do not find our old enthusiasm excessively ridiculous.) 4 This says much about the crucial role Rackham played in the formation of Buzzati’s artistic identity. Buzzati’s interest in Rackham’s art was not justthefleetinginfatuationofateenagerforthevisionaryworldsdepicted by the English illustrator. It might even suggest that Rackham presented a model on which, especially at the beginning of his career, Buzzati would shape his own fantastic imagery. The influence of Rackham’s illustrations on Buzzati can be found in both his pictorial and narrative work. While critics have pointed out the