link: DAMIEN HIRST - Death in Venice | Galleria Michela Rizzo, Venezia - Palazzo Palumbo Fossati - 12 aprile - 30 luglio 2010
txt: Death in Venice - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The novella Death in Venice was written by the German author Thomas Mann, and was first published in 1912 as Der Tod in Venedig. [...] Mann's original intention was to write about "passion as confusion and degradation", after having been fascinated by the true story of Goethe's love for 18-year-old Ulrike von Levetzow, which had led Goethe to write his Marienbad Elegy. The death of Gustav Mahler and Mann's interest in a boy during summer vacation were additional experiences occupying his thoughts. He used the story to illuminate certain convictions about the relationship between life and mind, with Gustav representing the intellectual. Mann was also influenced by Sigmund Freud and his views on dreams, as well as by philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. He had visited Venice several times.
