Eugenio Montale's 125th Birthday

Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Aosta, Italy-based guest artist Andrea Serio, celebrates the 125th birthday of Italian poet, critic, and translator Eugenio Montale. Renowned for his masterful ability to capture human emotion, he is widely considered one of the greatest poets of contemporary history. 

Born on this day in 1896 in the Italian port city of Genoa, Eugenio Montale first pursued a career as a baritone opera singer before finding his true voice as a poet. In a poem from “Ossi di Seppia”(“Cuttlefish Bones,” 1925), his first published collection, Montale used the rocky Italian coast as a symbol to provide both his readers and himself an escape from the anxiety of postwar Italy. This critically acclaimed collection differed from the extravagant language in poems of the time, and represented a turn in the tide for 20th-century literary symbolists.

Although he rejected the label, Montale is considered among the founders of the modernist poetic movement of Hermeticism—a “hermetic” (hidden or sealed) literary style often achieved through purposefully hard-to-interpret analogies and emotional vocabulary. Montale garnered worldwide fame for five volumes of symbolist poetry published during his 50-year writing career. In addition, he worked as an internationally renowned essayist, music and literary critic, and translator of English classics ranging from Shakespeare to Mark Twain. 

In 1975, Montale’s uncompromising verse was recognized at the highest level when he received the Nobel Prize in Literature. Often alluded to in the work of modern poets—Montale’s famously difficult poetry continues to have a profound effect on the literary world today.

Happy birthday, Eugenio Montale! 

Guest Artist Q&A with Andrea Serio

Today’s Doodle was illustrated by Aosta, Italy-based guest artist Andrea Serio. Below, she shares her thoughts behind the making of this Doodle:

Q. Why was this topic meaningful to you personally?

A. I have been happy to portray Eugenio Montale, a great artist whom I love not only for the disruptive beauty of his writings, but also for the courage and coherence of his political and intellectual positions.

Q. What were your first thoughts when you were approached about working on this Doodle?

A. My first reaction was one of total astonishment. I worked with very prestigious clients, but I never would have imagined to illustrate a Doodle!

Q. Did you draw inspiration from anything in particular for this Doodle? 

A. From the Ligurian landscape, with a special reference to the Cinque Terre and Monterosso, these are the places where he spent the summers of his childhood, places that he will cherish forever and that were the roots of his poetical imagination.

Q. What message do you hope people take away from your Doodle?

A. It would be nice to arouse people’s curiosity about this amazing Italian poet.

Early drafts of the Doodle below