persigue a él. El tocado se derrama de la cabeza al torso con un sinnúmero de plantas y animales, hay un león, una cigüeña, un lobo, algunas mariposas, una vaca y hasta un caracol. La presencia de cada uno de ellos no es meramente decorativa, sino simbólica, desde siempre las características de los animales han sido asociadas a las del hombre, el liderazgo de un león, la astucia de un lobo, la lentitud del caracol, la belleza efímera de una mariposa, etcétera. El abigarrado conjunto deja lugar a las sorpresas, como un angelito (a la manera de los putti del Renacimiento italiano) que secretea algo al oído, mientras arriba otro angelito (menos angélico, más diabólico) parece contrarrestar a su par, oposición que también se repite con la figura de un sacerdote acechado por una bruja.
The multicoloured ensemble offers surprises, such as the angel (after the fashion of the putti, in Italian renaissance) whispering some secret in her ear, while another angel, (somewhat less angelical, more devilish) is seemingly counteracting, in an opposition reiterated in the detail of the priest stalked on by a witch. The formula of the psychological portrait is fascinating: beyond the identifiable features of the model, the multiplicity of characters is propitious to recreate the complex personality of a woman. Though this is not specifically sought, it is possible to see a certain relationship between these portraits and those by the artistic genius Giuseppe Arcimboldi (1527-1593).
La fórmula del retrato psicológico no deja ser apasionante, más allá de los rasgos con los que se puede identificar a la modelo, la multitud de personajes induce a recrear la personalidad compleja de una mujer. Aunque no haya pensado específicamente en él, hay cierto parentesco de estos retratos con el genial Giuseppe Arcimboldo (1527 - 1593).
Buenos Aires, Close of the Century forms one of the most enticing chapters of Tessio’s creative novel. Vernissage (pag.48) can be regarded as a ‘collective portrait’ of Buenos Aires’ artistic fauna. It is a well known fact that art is often buried under what can be called an ‘epiphenomenon’ comprising everything that surrounds the work, a complex system including social events, prize giving ceremonies, critics, gallery owners, painter friends and many more. This painting is a friendly wink at characters which are musts: the artists Rogelio Polesello, Marta Minujín and Carlos Alonso, the businesswoman Amalia Fortabat, the critics Jorge Glusberg and Raúl Santana, the gallery owner Osvaldo Centoira and the entertainer Eduardo Bergara Leumann. The photographs are of course represented, as well as the waiters with the highlyvalued treasure: the glass of Champagne. One can see four pelicans, beaks widely open –ready perhaps to gobble up whatever they can-; some vultures are overflying the scene, a metaphor for ‘art snoopers’, a jaguar is roaring, a chimpanzee is doing all kinds of mimicries and an elephant is stomping clumsily in a vanity fair. Placed in the very background, the works of art seem almost forgotten. In these paintings, on the left margin, one can see (or rather make out)
Con la lengua afuera. Óleo. 100 x 130 cm . 1995.
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The bestiary