ABSTRACT: Tragedy and heroism emerge systematically across the artistic productions of Musič,
Baselitz and Mitoraj, establishing as characterizing thematic aspects which regard their individual
productions in their integrity. Such union of tragedy and heroism should be seen as the product and
reflection of the 20th century society in which the three artists live and operate. Common personal
and national traumatic instances, linked with the Second World War and its aftermath, tie the three
artists together, resulting in great affinities between them both on conceptual and formal aspects:
such as the reference to the classical statue of the Apoxyómenos, the use of nudity and the reliance
on memory.
This thesis intends to analyze precisely how the union of tragic and heroic plays out in the
work of Musič, Baselitz and Mitoraj and investigate how this union relates to their personal
experiences. Finally the focus of the research is to identify where the matrix of their artistic poetics
ideologically originates from: whether it resides in a postmodernist or in a hermeneutic framework.
In doing so we will focus on specific instances from the production of Musič, Baselitz and Mitoraj,
acknowledging both the formal and conceptual aspects of their creations to understand how they
convey the union of tragedy and heroism.
Wider artistic, philosophical and socio-historical perspectives on the overall matter of
discussion will be strongly considered, to eventually enable us to argue over the subtle prominence
of a hermeneutic attitude of their work. A tendency rooted in and demonstrated by the strong
reliance on personal and social memory the three artists express in their creations, as well as by the
constant dialogue and exchange they entertain with history and the history of art.
ABSTRACT: This thesis explores Lucanian and Etruscan funerary paintings depicting the deceased’s voyage to the underworld in order to investigate the two cultures’ contrasting beliefs about death and the afterlife. In particular, the thesis will focus on the Tomb of the Blue Demons in Tarquinia and the Tomb 47 from Andriuolo, as they are both characterized by a rare scene of the voyage of the deceased. The deep sadness and grief caused by the separation from the loved ones that transpires from the Lucanian paintings, and the strong sense of hope and family reunion perceivable from the Etruscan frescoes will be investigated throughout the thesis. The first and second chapters introduce the reader to the most common themes in funerary paintings from the repertoire of both the Italic cultures, and the contrast between them in terms of representations and funerary traditions will be highlighted and discussed. The third chapter is dedicated to the visual analysis of the case studies, to an overview about the individual tombs and the interaction between all the frescoes within, and finally to the comparison between the mourning women scenes and the banqueting scene. The fourth chapter allows a better understanding of the theme of voyage as depicted in the Tomb of the Blue Demons and Tomb 47, and it will be analyzed as an exemplification of the differences of the Lucanian and Etruscan cultures.
