no one is absolutely and definitely sure if there ever was a seamless narrative continuity ... but some themes and some of life's milestones are evident ... the title page sets the tone it delicately parodies the title page of his father's scherzi series of engravings, seen first ...
the very first drawing after the title page shows the birth of punchinello's father ... hatched from a turkey's egg ... of course, some of the ancient gods and divine beings were thought to have been hatched, although not from turkeys ...
amongst those who've studied the series, everyone's best guess at narrative continuity suggests this next drawing shows the mother and father of pulchinello, marching to their wedding ...
and here they make their vows and receive the blessing of ??? some sort of priest, in surroundings that echo the ones often painted by veronese ...
then we see their wedding feast ... possibly another parody of his father's work ... the feast of cleopatra and mark anthony
after their marriage, the groom brings his new bride to his parents' house ...
a pregnancy follows ... pulchinello's mother presents with classic symptoms ...
the baby Pulcinello is born ... and is immediately acquainted with his father
the baby Pulcinello is introduced to his mother's breast ...
and is then swaddled ...
the infant Pulcinello is encouraged to walk ...
later he is given a captive bird, tied on a string ...
there is a children's party ...
and pulcinello is taken to his first day at a country school ...
soon Pulcinello and the other pulcinelli encounter the world of work ...
for instance, in the fitting room of a couturier ...
helping to spin wollen threads ...
or as a tailor's assistant ...
clearly, the vigorous Pulcinelli are interested in work ...
their strength and agility, sociability and diligence, and their willingness to co-operate at all times mean they are ideal subjects for a great baroque artist ...
most of all, the Pulcinelli like to dance, and fall in love ...
inevitably, they will settle down to prosperous and respectable domesticity ... well mostly ...
sometimes, the Punchinelli's party lifestyle brings them to the point of exhaustion and collapse ...
(21) Collection in Focus: Domenico Tiepolo's "Punchinello" Drawings - YouTube
