Moby Dick – The Whale. The Story of a Myth from Antiquity to Contemporary Art is the major exhibition project inspired by the eponymous novel by Herman Melville, designed for the monumental spaces of the Palazzo Ducale. The exhibition takes its cues from the many analyses and interpretations contained within this 19th-century American masterpiece: the relationship between man and nature; the conflict between good and evil; feelings of passion and revenge; the coexistence of marine beings and humans; and the theme of journey and discovery, understood both as passages of the inner self and of external experience. Cesare Pavese, the first Italian translator of the novel, writes in the preface to the 1941 edition: “Achab pursues Moby Dick out of thirst for vengeance, it’s clear, but as often happens in any infatuation with hatred, the desire to destroy almost seems like a desire to possess, to know.”
Moby Dick – The Whale aims to create an exhibition path that guides the visitor through the artistic universe generated by the novel, ranging from ancient art to contemporary art, from the history of navigation to illustration, and even to design. It is a journey through historical epochs, perspectives, reinterpretations, and adaptations that stem from this classic of American literature, which still fascinates artists, readers, and scholars today. The proposed project aims to observe and present the multidisciplinary panorama that Moby Dick and the White Whale have generated, starting from visual art and extending to music, cinema, theater, science, and biology, all through the lens of literature. Moby Dick, Captain Ahab’s quest for vengeance, and his crew will thus also intertwine with the maritime history of the city of Genoa and its sea: the Cetacean Sanctuary.