Il Gattopardo
© Ivan Cangelosi, 2009
150X80 cm
Ink on paper
Technique – Handwriting of the whole novel of Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa – Italian
Material – Pens and paper
Category-Historical
About the novel – Il Gattopardo is a novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, published posthumously in 1958.
The author was inspired by the events of his old family and especially by the life of his great-grandfather, Prince Giulio Fabrizio Tomasi di Lampedusa, who lived in the crucial years of the Renaissance. Because of the topic, the book is often considered as a historical novel, though it does not meet all standards.
The narrative process within the work is both historical and current. Speaking of past events, Tomasi di Lampedusa talks about events of the present time, namely a Sicilian attitude mentioned as gattopardesco.which is a mixture of resignation and cynical attitude towards the reality. The author explains that the changes occurred in the island several times in the course of history, have just adapted the Sicilians to other “invaders”, without changing in anyway the essence and character of the Sicilians themselves.
Description of the painting – In this work – The portrait of the Prince of Salina in the famous film of “Il gattopardo” directed by Luchino Visconti, role played by Burt Lancaster (1963).