Marginalia Exhibition Links Comics to Medieval Manuscripts at Nouveau Musée National de Monaco

The Nouveau Musée National de Monaco has opened 'Marginalia. Nel segreto delle collezioni di fumetti' at Villa Sauber, running until September 5, 2021. The exhibition draws a parallel between comic strips and medieval marginalia—the humorous, often irreverent drawings found in the margins of illuminated manuscripts. It features iconic characters such as Batman, Betty Boop, Bugs Bunny, Charlie Brown, Corto Maltese, Donald Duck, Felix the Cat, Flash Gordon, Mandrake, Mickey Mouse, Scrooge McDuck, the Smurfs, Snoopy, and Tintin, presented as descendants of these medieval doodles. The show includes works from public and private collections and aims to explore how comics, born from counterculture and mass culture, have been absorbed by cultural institutions without losing their transgressive edge or succumbing to commodification. The exhibition is conceived as a coniunctio between pop and high culture, highlighting the ninth art's roots in marginality and humor.