Page 241 - Masters

his name to Saladin d’Anglure. This name still exists after 800 years. of freedom regarding the epic matter he utilized. It was the freedom
I MAkE THIS example, because the exoticism of Petru Russu tells of a of a superior distance.
magnificent East. An East of admiration and wonder, that has nothing Boccaccio was the first author capable of dominating the most differ-
to do with the tendency to indulge in detailed descriptions. It is this ent subjects-both from a social-historical and popular-dialectal point
exoticism I am writing about. An exoticism that Russu seems to bend of view-with that distance that belongs to the artistic discipline. I think
into science fiction, populated by characters that look like ancient that this example is very important not only for those who create illus-
Egyptians, or Chinese princes dressed with hundreds of jade stones, trations for books, but also for those artists who confront themselves
as the ones discovered by the archeologists. Boccaccio will not be with this gigantic masterpieces’ provocation. Excerpt
angry for such interpretation. He himself-while he was writing about
Dante-used to wonder if his illustrious master might have been angry “100 Interpretations” by DAN HAULICA, art critic, Presidents of AICA
up above. Boccaccio will not be angry, because he himselflook a lot

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masters of today