Page 96 - SUMMARIES OF GIOVANNI BOCCACCIO’S DECAMEON : A Visionary Journey In 100 Stories And 100 Etchings By Petru Russu

Andreuola and Gabriotto

In the city of Brescia, Andreuola, the noble daughter of Messer Negro
da Ponte Carraro, lives a life of quiet refinement. Though her station
demands restraint, her heart belongs to Gabriotto, a handsome and
virtuous young man of lower birth. Their love, though socially forbidden, is

sincere and secret, nurtured in the privacy of her father’s garden with the
help of a loyal maidservant.

One evening, Andreuola recounts a troubling dream to Gabriotto: she saw

a dark shadow rise from his body and drag him into the earth. Gabriotto,
undeterred, shares a similar dream, one that mirrors hers in its ominous
tone. They dismiss the visions as phantoms of sleep, but fate has already
begun its quiet descent.

As they embrace beneath blooming roses, Gabriotto suddenly collapses
and dies in Andreuola’s arms. Stricken with grief, she and her maid
attempt to carry his body discreetly to his home, hoping to preserve his

dignity and avoid scandal. But they are intercepted by the Signory and
brought before the Podestà.

The magistrate, seeing a noblewoman in distress, attempts to exploit

her vulnerability. But Andreuola, composed and resolute, refuses to be
intimidated. She defends her innocence with clarity and courage, refusing
RENDERED WITH A FUSION OF to yield to coercion. Her father, upon hearing of her plight, arrives and
POST-MODERN FIGURATION confirms her story. The truth prevails, and Andreuola is released.
AND EXPRESSIVE ABSTRACTION,
THIS ARTWORK CHANNELS
ANDREUOLA’S SPIRITUAL Yet freedom brings no comfort. The loss of Gabriotto leaves her
RESILIENCE THROUGH hollow, and the world that once held promise now feels distant and
INTERWOVEN DREAM MOTIFS
AND EMOTIONALLY CHARGED cold. Choosing a path of spiritual retreat, Andreuola enters a convent,
COLOR FIELDS. dedicating herself to prayer and renunciation.
DECAMERON 94 95