Trafika Europe 14 - Italian Piazza

The Animal Gazer

THAT NIGHT REMBRANDT had a dream. He found himsel f at the entrance to the Snai l Room, hunched over, his long legs cramped. The room dated back to a few years earl ier and had been conceived and bui lt by his father, Carlo. It was made of oak and simi lar to the shel l of a snai l both in color and, i f you touched it with your f ingers, the porousness of its surface. Walking with his back bent forward, Rembrandt cl imbed the steps of the spiral that led to the room. At the center of the room there was an oval table, covered with a tablecloth of f ine yel low brocade, on which miniature tapirs, anteaters, marabou, and ostriches the size of sparrows were moving excitedly. Next to the table, on a chair careful ly upholstered in pewter and vel lum, Carlo Bugatti was seated. On a sofa, with her legs dangl ing over an armrest that ended with the head of a giant snai l , Rembrandt ’s sister, Dejanice, was lying down. The snai l head had crystal eyes. I bui lt al l this for the sultan of Constantinople, said the father severely, but neither you nor your sister is wi l l ing to boi l the glue that holds it together. In the meantime the l ittle animals have multipl ied and no longer occupy just the table: they ’re swarming onto the chairs, the sofa, and they ’re starting to invade the f loor. You who love animals and are loved by them in turn, order them to leave.

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