Between 1911 and 1924, the Russian art historian, novelist, essayist, and critic Pavel Muratov (1881-1950) published a dazzling trilogy of travel impressions entitled Obrazy Italii, previously untranslated but now rendered into English by Lena Lenček under the title Evocations of Italy (Northwestern University Press, 2026). At once erudite and lyrical, philosophical and practical, historical and of its moment, this strange and unclassifiable text is as radical in its free-wheeling bending of generic conventions as was Laurence Sterne’s Tristram Shandy in its own time. Yet, as this presentation will demonstrate, this brilliant “impossible” text deliberately deploys multiple discursive modalities in its objective of reanimating and reconstituting the classical Italian tradition of il viaggio educativo (the educational journey) so as to provoke in his contemporary readers as equally the readers of today, a remolding of aesthetic and ethical values.
Sponsorship
This seminar is organized by the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures and is co-sponsored by the Mahindra Humanities Center and the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies.
Accessibility
The Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact us at 617-495-4037 or daviscenter@fas.harvard.edu in advance of your participation or visit. Requests for Sign Language interpreters and/or CART providers should be made at least two weeks in advance if possible. Please note that the Davis Center will make every effort to secure services but that services are subject to availability.
