The aestheticization of ugliness : the Pulcinella narrative in Giandomenico Tiepolo's Villa Zianigo

What does one make of beautiful depictions of ugliness? In an attempt to answer this question, this paper used Giandomenico Tiepolo’s Pulcinella fresco series in Villa Zianigo from the late eighteenth century as a case study. The frescos foreground Pulcinella, a Commedia dell’arte theatrical character known for his ugly appearance— hunchback, hooked nose, and protruding belly— and actions on stage. In this series, the artist displaces the character from the stage and onto the walls of a quaint villa, in joyous scenes within the beautiful country landscape. Though the ugliness of his character is maintained, I claim that his recontextualization changes his relationship to the viewer, making him their stand-in. This recontextualization I consider to be a part of the aestheticization of ugliness. Pushing back against the widely purported understanding of aestheticization as beautification, this paper explores how the recontextualization of an ugly subject into a beautiful, artistic context strengthens the relationship between the subject and the audience. As a complement, this paper also argues for the possibility of a narrative within the seemingly disjunctive group of frescos. While at first glance each scene of village life seems isolated from the next, this paper, using comic narrative theory and close looking, builds a loose narrative to tie together the scenes. I liken the ambiguous and unpredictable nature of the fresco narrative to the improvisation technique that was the cornerstone of the Commedia theatrical tradition and made the audience active agents in the formation of the play. In focusing on the aestheticization of ugliness and the Commedia-esque fresco narrative, this paper becomes an exploration of the possibilities within viewer/subject relationship.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Art History

Grantor

The University of Texas at Austin

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Ligotino, Gianna

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Clarke, John R., 1945-
• Papalexandrou, Athanasios Christou, 1965-

Committee member dc:contributor.committeemember

• Kathleen Higgins

• Eighteenth century
• Commedia dell'arte
• Aesthetics
• Ugliness
• Giandomenico Tiepolo
• Pulcinella
• Aestheticization
• Venice
• Narrative

Identifier URI

https://doi.org/10.26153/tsw/61417

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repositories.lib.utexas.edu:2152/134090