Abstract Watercolor and Pastel
Sealed In Melamine
From EUGENIO C's Midships Stairtower
by Enrico Paulucci

Items from SS BIG RED BOAT II (ex EUGENIO C, EUGENIO COSTA, EDINBURGH CASTLE, THE BIG RED BOAT II)

Watercolor And Pastel
Blue And Yellow
Abstract Birds and Trees
106 Inches Tall by 79.5 Inches Wide
Contact Christie's For Details Regarding June 28, 2007 Ocean Liner Auction

The panel shown on board the former EUGENIO C in June of 2005.

As built, EUGENIO C was filled with some of Italy's finest artwork of the mid-1960s. Over the years and after many refits, much of it was either removed or pillaged, but when the lovely ship showed up on the beach of Alang, these rare, wonderful watercolor and pastel panels were still extant in some of her stairtowers. They vary in size and color.

Close ups showing the work. Photos and copyright Peter Knego 2006.

This two piece panel (each measuring 106 inches tall by 39.75 inches wide) is in excellent condition. There are tiny scratches in the clear surfacing here and there from 40 years of service, but overall the panel looks spectacular. The melamine coating is about a milimeter thick and has protected this artwork from passengers, luggage, and other potential threats.

Enrico Paulucci's shipboard contributions go back many decades.  In collaboration with the great triumvirate of Italian designers Gio Ponti, Nino Zoncada, and Gustavo Pulitzer, he and many other key artists contributed works that adorned a gamut of famous ships from CONTE BIANCAMANO to ANDREA DORIA and OCEANIC.

  Paulucci was born in Genoa in 1901. He moved to Turin in 1921 where he participated in the Second Futurism movement at the University of Turin. In 1928, he visited Paris with Francesco Menzio, gaining international recognition. He was part of the second Novecento show in 1929. He would soon open the Casorati-Paulucci studio where he organized the first Italian showing of abstract art by the Milanese group Milione. In 1939, he became teacher of painting at Academia Albertina in Turin, becoming its director in 1955. His art evolved from representational to abstract in the post war era. Between 1928 and 1972, his work was represented at the renowned Venice Biennale on many occasions, with three one-man shows in 1939, 1942, and 1954, as well as many representations in the Quadriennale. Paulucci also has a vast body of work in cinema and stage design. He died in Turin in 1999 (many thanks to Paolo Piccione and Matteo Fochessati and their brilliant "Arte In Viaggio" for this mini-biography on Paulucci).

Paulucci painted the works on card stock that was pressed between two layers of melamine, the top portion of which was clear. Melamine is a formica-like hardened plastic alloy that has an incredible durability.