OT: Giorgio Morandi. Infinite Resonance

From 24 September to 9 January, the Recoletos Hall at the Mapfre Foundation is organising a retrospective of the work of the Italian painter, Giorgio Morandi, one of the most significant artists in the history of 20th century art, along with an exhibition of work by modern artists who knew how to interpret his work.

Morandi. Infinite Resonance is a retrospective exhibition of Giorgio Morandi’s work (Bologna, 1890-1964), one of the most significant and unclassifiable artists in the history of twentieth century art. The Italian painter barely travelled outside Italy and spent almost his entire life in his home and studio on Via Fondazza on Bologna. Here he engaged in creating work in which everyday objects, flowers and landscapes became the protagonists, with the intention of producing, as noted by Ardengo Soffici, “a harmonious composition of colours, shapes and volumes that exclusively obeyed the rules of unity, like the beauty of consensus.”

The exhibition provides a comprehensive overview of Morandi’s output in seven sections that address all the themes the artist loved, primarily still lifes, landscapes, and vases of flowers. The earlier part of the exhibition features the paintings Self-Portrait and Bathers, two of the few examples of human representation in his work. In addition, throughout the exhibition visitors will find a selection of works by other contemporary artists who managed to establish a dialogue with the language of the Italian artist in different media (mainly photography, painting, sculpture and ceramics). Notable among these artists are Tony Cragg, Tacita Dean, Joel Meyerowitz, Luigi Ontani, Rachel Whiteread, Edmund de Waal, Alfredo Alcaín and Gerardo Rueda, to name but a few.

Exhibition organized by Fundación MAPFRE and Fundació Catalunya La Pedrera.(Source and additional information at Fundación Mapfre)

Image Credits: Self Portrait is an oil on canvas painting created by Giorgio Morandi in 1924. It lives at the Pinacoteca di Brera in Italy. The image is in the public domain.

My Book Notes: Unravelled Knots: The Teahouse Detective (s. s.), 1925 by Baroness Orczy

Esta entrada es bilingüe. Desplazarse hacia abajo para acceder a la versión en español

Pushkin Press, 2019. Format: Kindle Edition. File Size: ‎ 1158 KB. Print Length: 273 pages. ASIN: B07YP23TD4. ISBN: 978-1-78227-589-3. Unravelled Knots contains thirteen short stories about the Teahouse Detective, Orzy’s armchair detective who solves crimes for his own entertainment. These stories were first collected in book form and published as Unravelled Knots by T. Hutchinson & Co in 1925.

Another classic collection of mysteries from the Golden Age of British crime writing, by the author of The Scarlet Pimpernel

Description: It has been twenty years since Polly Burton last saw the Teahouse Detective, but one foggy afternoon she stumbles into a Fleet Street café and chances upon the cantankerous sleuth again. The years have not softened his manner, nor dulled his appetite for unravelling the most tortuous of conspiracies, shedding light on mysteries that have confounded the finest minds of the police.

How did Prince Orsoff disappear from his railway carriage in-between stations? How could the Ingres masterpiece be seen in two places at once? And what is the truth behind the story of the blood-stained tunic that exonerated its owner?

From the comfort of his seat by the fire, the Teahouse Detective sets his brilliant mind to work once more.

My Take: Unravelled Knots is the third and last collection of thirteen short stories featuring Baroness Orczy’s Teahouse Detective, following those in The Old Man in the Corner (1908) and in The Case of Miss Elliott (1905). Seven of these stories originally appeared in the London Magazine (1923 – 1924) and five in Hutchinson’s Magazine (1924 – 1925). They were collected in book form in 1925, published as Unravelled Knots by T. Hutchinson & Co.

As we read in the first of the stories, twenty years have passed since Polly Burton saw the Man in the Corner for the last time. By chance, one day, she walks into the Fleet Street teashop again and sees him sitting by the fire, fidgeting with his piece of string. In this manner they renew their former talks. The stories in Unravelled Knots are: “The Mystery of the Khaki Tunic”; “The Mystery of the Ingres Masterpiece”; “The Mystery of the Pearl Necklace”; “The Mystery of the Russian Prince”; “The Mysterious Tragedy in Bishop’s Road”; “The Mystery of the Dog’s Tooth Cliff”; “The Tytherton Case”; “The Mystery of Brudenell Court”; “The Mystery of the White Carnation”; “The Mystery of the Montmartre Hat”; “The Miser of Maida Vale”; “The Fulton Gardens Mystery”; and “A Moorland Tragedy”.

I’m not going to expand more on these stories. Suffice is to say that they follow a similar pattern, but unlike the previous tales, I found them pretty dull and lacking the freshness and novelty that were present in the former ones. I was able to finish reading the book, but actually none of the stories interested me much.

Unravelled Knots has been reviewed, among others, by Jim Noy at The Invisible Event, and Rekha Rao at The Book Decoder.

(Source: Facsimile Dust Jackets LLC. T. Hutchinson & Co, UK, 1925)

About the Author: Baroness Orczy (1865 – 1947) was a Hungarian-born British author, best known for the Scarlet Pimpernel novels. Her Teahouse Detective, who features in Unravelled Knots, was one of the first fictional sleuths created in response to the Sherlock Holmes stories’ huge success. Initially serialised in magazines, the stories in theses collections were first published in book form in 1905 and have since been adapted for radio, television and film. All three collections of Teahouse Detective mysteries are available from Pushkin Vertigo: The Old Man in the Corner (1908), The Case of Miss Elliot (1905) and Unravelled Knots. Besides I’ve read “The Glasgow Mystery” (1902), the 13th short story not included in the 1908 collection ​The Old Man In The Corner.

Other detective stories by Baroness Orczy: Lady Molly of Scotland Yard (1910); The Man in Grey (1918); Castles in the Air (1921); and Skin O’ My Tooth (1928).

Pushkin Press publicity page

Unravelled Knots LibriVox

Baroness Orczy at gadetection

Baroness Orczy by Mike Grost

Baroness Orczy (1865-1947) – Emma Magdalena Rosalia Maria Josefa Barbara Orczy

The Golden Age: Baroness Orczy (1865-1947)  by Carol Westron

Unravelled Knots, de la baronesa Orczy

Otra colección clásica de misterios de la Edad de Oro de la escritura policiaca británica, por la autora de The Scarlet Pimpernel

Descripción: Han pasado veinte años desde la última vez que Polly Burton vio al detective de la casa de té, pero una tarde de niebla tropieza con un café de Fleet Street y se encuentra de nuevo con el viejo cascarrabias. Los años no han suavizado sus modales, ni han apagado su apetito por desentrañar la más tortuosa de las conspiraciones, arrojando luz sobre misterios que han confundido a las mejores mentes de la policía.

¿Cómo desapareció el príncipe Orsoff de su vagón de tren entre estaciones? ¿Cómo puede verse la obra maestra de Ingres en dos lugares a la vez ¿Y cuál es la verdad detrás de la historia de la túnica manchada de sangre que exoneró a su dueño?

Desde la comodidad de su asiento junto al fuego, el detective de la casa de té pone su brillante mente a trabajar una vez mas.

Mi opinión: Unravelled Knots es la tercera y última colección de trece cuentos protagonizados por el detective de la casa de té de la baronesa Orczy, que sigue a los de The Old Man in the Corner (1908) y The Case of Miss Elliott (1905). Siete de estos relatos aparecieron originalmente en el London Magazine (1923 – 1924) y cinco en el Hutchinson’s Magazine (1924 – 1925). Fueron recopilados en forma de libro en 1925, publicados como Unravelled Knots por T. Hutchinson & Co.

Como podemos leer en el primero de los relatos, han pasado veinte años desde que Polly Burton vio al Hombre del Rincón por última vez. Por casualidad, un día, vuelve a entrar en la casa de té de Fleet Street y lo ve sentado junto al fuego, jugueteando con su trozo de cuerda. De esta manera renuevan sus conversaciones anteriores. Las historias de Unravelled Knots son: “The Mystery of the Khaki Tunic”; “The Mystery of the Ingres Masterpiece”; “The Mystery of the Pearl Necklace”; “The Mystery of the Russian Prince”; “The Mysterious Tragedy in Bishop’s Road”; “The Mystery of the Dog’s Tooth Cliff”; “The Tytherton Case”; “The Mystery of Brudenell Court”; “The Mystery of the White Carnation”; “The Mystery of the Montmartre Hat”; “The Miser of Maida Vale”; “The Fulton Gardens Mystery”; y “A Moorland Tragedy”.

No voy a ampliar más estos relatos. Basta decir que siguen un patrón similar, pero a diferencia de los cuentos anteriores, los encontré bastante aburridos y carentes de la frescura y novedad que estaban presentes en los anteriores. Pude terminar de leer el libro, pero en realidad ninguna de las historias me interesó mucho.

Sobre el autor: La baronesa Orczy (1865 – 1947) fue una autora británica nacida en Hungría, más conocida por sus novelas sobre La Pimpinela Escarlata. Su detective de la casa de té que aparece en Unraveled Knots, fue uno de los primeros detectives de ficción creados en respuesta al gran éxito de las historias de Sherlock Holmes. Inicialmente serializadas en revistas, los relatos de estas colecciones se publicaron por primera vez en forma de libro en 1905 y desde entonces se han adaptado para la radio, la televisión y el cine. Las tres colecciones de misterio del detective de la casa de té están disponibles por Pushkin Vertigo: The The Old Man in the Corner (1908), The Case of Miss Elliot (1905) y Unraveled Knots (1925). Además, he leído “The Glasgow Mystery” (1902), el decimotercer relato no incluido en la colección de 1908 The Old Man In The Corner.

Otros relatos policiacos de la baronesa Orzy: Lady Molly of Scotland Yard (1910); The Man in Grey [El hombre gris](1918); Castles in the Air [Castillos en el aire] (1921); y Skin O’ My Tooth (1928).