Ekphrastic Interpretation of the Madonna in A. Blok’s “Italian Poems”

Abstract

The article analyzes the visual imagery in A. Blok’s “Italian Poems” through the lens of Renaissance humanism aesthetics. This perspective allows for an interpretation of the work as a transition from an expression of a crisis linked to the poet’s loss of the ideal of the Eternal Feminine to a new worldview. The cycle reflects a departure from Platonic ideals, incorporating motifs of the Renaissance idyll, such as the beauty of nature, corporeal objectivity, and Dionysianism. Under the influence of the fine arts of the Quattrocento, which profoundly impacted him during a journey to Italy in 1909, the poet endeavors to attain a harmonious dualism in his depiction of the feminine image, thereby surmounting his creative crisis. Poetic ekphrasis, inspired by works of Fra Beato Angelico, F. Lippi, and Di Paolo Manni, plays a crucial role in crafting a humanistic image of the Madonna, merging spiritual and carnal elements (“Venus Coelestis” and “Venus Vulgaris”). In the poet’s view, Mary, depicted as a solitary figure in frescoes, icons, and statues, embodies all that is natural and beautiful in a woman, evoking both awe and sensual attraction in the lyrical character. In the concluding transformative ekphrasis, which features complex genre scenes, the poet reproduces episodes from Mary’s hagiography, based on the concept of sacred marriage, creating an impression of cosmic and dual existence.

Keywords

• “italian poems
• ” eternal femininity
• ekphrasis of madonnа
• quattrocento aesthetics