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Heretical Aesthetics: Pasolini on Painting
First collection on filmmaker and poet Pasolini's passion for painting
One of Europe's most mythologized Marxist intellectuals of the 20th century, Pier Paolo Pasolini was not only a poet, filmmaker, novelist, and political martyr. He was also a keen critic of painting. An intermittently practicing artist in his own right, Pasolini studied under the distinguished art historian Roberto Longhi, whose lessons marked a life-long affinity for figurative painting and its centrality to a particular cinematic sensibility.
Pasolini set out wilfully to "contaminate" art criticism with semiotics, dialectology, and film theory, penning catalogue essays and exhibition reviews alongside poems, autobiographical meditations, and public lectures on painting. His fiercely idiosyncratic blend of Communism and classicism, localism and civic universalism, iconophilia and aesthetic "heresy," animated and antagonized Cold War culture like few European contemporaries. This book offers numerous texts previously available only in Italian, each accompanied by an editorial note elucidating its place in the tumultuous context of post-war Italian culture.
Prefaced by the renowned art historian T.J. Clark, a historical essay on Pasolini's radical aesthetics anchors the anthology. One hundred years after his birth, Heretical Aesthetics sheds light on one of the most consequential aspects of Pasolini's intellectual life, further illuminating a vast cinematic and poetic corpus along the way.
One of Europe's most mythologized Marxist intellectuals of the 20th century, Pier Paolo Pasolini was not only a poet, filmmaker, novelist, and political martyr. He was also a keen critic of painting. An intermittently practicing artist in his own right, Pasolini studied under the distinguished art historian Roberto Longhi, whose lessons marked a life-long affinity for figurative painting and its centrality to a particular cinematic sensibility.
Pasolini set out wilfully to "contaminate" art criticism with semiotics, dialectology, and film theory, penning catalogue essays and exhibition reviews alongside poems, autobiographical meditations, and public lectures on painting. His fiercely idiosyncratic blend of Communism and classicism, localism and civic universalism, iconophilia and aesthetic "heresy," animated and antagonized Cold War culture like few European contemporaries. This book offers numerous texts previously available only in Italian, each accompanied by an editorial note elucidating its place in the tumultuous context of post-war Italian culture.
Prefaced by the renowned art historian T.J. Clark, a historical essay on Pasolini's radical aesthetics anchors the anthology. One hundred years after his birth, Heretical Aesthetics sheds light on one of the most consequential aspects of Pasolini's intellectual life, further illuminating a vast cinematic and poetic corpus along the way.
- GenresFilmNonfictionArt
224 pages, Paperback
Published August 1, 2023
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About the author
Pier Paolo Pasolini
375 books872 followersItalian poet, novelist, critic, essayst, journalist, translator, dramatist, film director, screenwriter and philosopher, often regarded as one of the greatest minds of XX century, was murdered violently in Rome in 1975 in circumstances not yet been clarified. Pasolini is best known outside Italy for his films, many of which were based on literary sources - The Gospel According to Saint Matthew, The Decameron, The Canterbury Tales...
Pasolini referred himself as a 'Catholic Marxist' and often used shocking juxtapositions of imagery to expose the vapidity of values in modern society.
His essays and newspaper articles often critized the capitalistic omologation and also often contributed to public controversies which had made him many enemies. In the weeks leading up to his murder he had condemned Italy's political class for its corruption, for neo-fascist terrorist conspiracy and for collusion with the Mafia and the infamous "Propaganda 2" masonic lodge of Licio Gelli and Eugenio Cefis.
His friend, the writer Alberto Moravia, considered him "the major Italian poet" of the second half of the 20th century.
Pasolini referred himself as a 'Catholic Marxist' and often used shocking juxtapositions of imagery to expose the vapidity of values in modern society.
His essays and newspaper articles often critized the capitalistic omologation and also often contributed to public controversies which had made him many enemies. In the weeks leading up to his murder he had condemned Italy's political class for its corruption, for neo-fascist terrorist conspiracy and for collusion with the Mafia and the infamous "Propaganda 2" masonic lodge of Licio Gelli and Eugenio Cefis.
His friend, the writer Alberto Moravia, considered him "the major Italian poet" of the second half of the 20th century.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 13, 2025
The book is well edited and I enjoyed the lively introduction by T.J. Clark, but Pasolini's take on the visual arts is not that fully interesting. His critiques are dry, and much of the writing is for catalogs of artist friends. This alone is perfectly fine, but there is very little poison here. If you are a Pasolini fan, and I do like his novels and films, then this is a book you should read and have, but it's not essential.
October 12, 2024
Probably more of interest to students of Pasolini’s writing style and way of thinking than of painting ‘itself’.
The book features a well written introduction and thorough, informative footnotes which give good context to understand Pasolini’s short and varied texts.
Although the colour reproductions are welcome, it would have helped greatly to have more of them, and more images which are directly pertinent to the text. Some of the artists discussed are fairly obscure and provincial so it can be difficult to find images of the specific works that Pasolini mentions. I was grateful to be introduced to some painters that I hadn’t looked at before such as Zigaina and Carlo Levi. Short pieces on Caravaggio and Warhol are more approachable since one is of course familiar with the work already.
I’m left wishing that Pasolini had written more art criticism, and in a more sustained form. I would love a full appraisal of Picasso for instance - since his influence is clearly seen in some of Pasolini’s own paintings, if not his films. A lengthy rumination on Morandi would also be a dream - he was obviously a highly significant painter for Pasolini but is mentioned a few times here in a slightly offhand manner, as if his greatness is so obvious that it doesn’t require explanation (which is of course true as well).
The book features a well written introduction and thorough, informative footnotes which give good context to understand Pasolini’s short and varied texts.
Although the colour reproductions are welcome, it would have helped greatly to have more of them, and more images which are directly pertinent to the text. Some of the artists discussed are fairly obscure and provincial so it can be difficult to find images of the specific works that Pasolini mentions. I was grateful to be introduced to some painters that I hadn’t looked at before such as Zigaina and Carlo Levi. Short pieces on Caravaggio and Warhol are more approachable since one is of course familiar with the work already.
I’m left wishing that Pasolini had written more art criticism, and in a more sustained form. I would love a full appraisal of Picasso for instance - since his influence is clearly seen in some of Pasolini’s own paintings, if not his films. A lengthy rumination on Morandi would also be a dream - he was obviously a highly significant painter for Pasolini but is mentioned a few times here in a slightly offhand manner, as if his greatness is so obvious that it doesn’t require explanation (which is of course true as well).
October 11, 2023
Love Pasolini, art history not so much.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews