Who does not know Corto Maltese, the most famous sailor in history, adventurer and romantic lead of the graphic novel by Hugo Pratt? On the occasion of its 50th anniversary, Genus Bononiae will accommodate until March 19 at Palazzo Pepoli the grand exhibition "Hugo Pratt and Corto Maltese- Fifty years of travel in the myth” realized in collaboration with CMS Cultura and with the support of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Bologna.
The exhibition presents more than 400 storyboards, sketches, drawings and paintings by Pratt and 164 original drawings of "Ballad of the Salt Sea”, the debut story of the famous sailor. Corto Maltese is a real literary myth of the twentieth century, an anti-hero who does not seek wealth but adventure and freedom, and as a modern Ulysses, is able to take us to the most fascinating places on the planet.
The comic masterpiece "Ballad of the Salt Sea", in which Corto makes his appearance for the first time, was created by the Venetian artist in 1967 and immediately earned the definition of "Designed Literature”, carrying the protagonist into the Olympus of cult figures of the twentieth century. They will follow 29 stories of Corto Maltese over a period of 25 years, with millions of copies sold worldwide: the Pratt watercolors have become highly sought-after and are exposed in the most important museums. The sea will always be part of Corto’s fate, being that his creator chose for him to be born in Valletta, Malta, in 1887, by a British sailor and an Andalusian Gypsy, "one meter and eighty-three centimeters tall, with eyes the color of honey and an earring in his left ear”, a romantic sailor and a gentleman of luck that has made generations of readers dream.
The icing on the cake at the show in Bologna will be 164 original drawings of Ballad of the Salt Sea, like a show within the show. Alongside Corto, there will also be other creatures who have sprung from the endless imagination of the designer and globetrotter: Ann of the Jungle (1959), Ernie Pike, 1961, Justice of the Wathee of Sg.t Kirk of 1955, and even the amazing tables and watercolors of the Scorpions of the Desert which lead the visitor-traveler through Ethiopia from 1941 to 1942. There will also be special openings during the holidays, December 24-25 and 26 and January 1 and 6 with hours from 10-19.