Senza titolo (Cratilo), 1978
GPE-0032
Untitled (Cratylus)
Lithograph and silkscreen
100 x 69 cm
Signed and dated on the recto, bottom right: “Giulio Paolini 1978”
Autograph numbering on the recto, bottom left
30 in Arabic numerals from 1/30 to 30/30
15 in Roman numerals from I/XV to XV/XV
Lucio Amelio, Naples
The print was produced by the art dealer Lucio Amelio, Naples, on the occasion of the solo exhibition of Paolini's work at the Museo Diego Aragona Pignatelli Cortes, Naples, from 9 February 1978, promoted by Amelio. The same subject was used for the exhibition poster.
The photographic reproduction of the torso of the Eros of Centocelle is the model of the figure drawn, which reproduces its outline, mirror-like and with its arms filled in. The slight protuberance of the hands with respect to the edges of the image transforms the figure that is drawn here into a viewer, intent on looking at the reproduction he holds before him.
The subtitle repeats the name of the Greek philosopher, who inspired Plato's famous dialogue on the correctness of language, that is, on whether or not identity exists between a name and the thing named. According to Cratylus, identity is absolute, since the name holds within the same nature as the thing that is drawn. In Paolini's print, the dilemma of the language is formulated at various levels: through the identity and at the same time difference between the model (the ancient statue) and its copy (the drawn figure), just as between the representation (photographic and drawn) and the absent original; or, again, through the encounter between the gazes of the two figures, which questions the very concept of mimesis and of representation.
The same theme was developed in two large-scale works, made in 1978 and in 1983, respectively (GPO-0387, GPO-0485).
The original collage on which the print is based is documented in the online Catalogue Raisonné of the works on paper at number GPC-0475.
Eros of Centocelle, Roman copy of the 4th century BC Eros by Praxiteles, h 79 cm, Musei Vaticani, Rome.
| 1992 | Bonn, Bonner Kunstverein, Giulio Paolini. Impressions graphiques. Das graphische Werk 1967-1992, 24 February - 29 March (catalogue Impressions graphiques. L’opera grafica 1967-1992 di Giulio Paolini [Turin: Marco Noire Editore, 1992], cat. no. 31). |
| 1993 | Winterthur, Kunstmuseum Winterthur, Giulio Paolini. Impressions graphiques. Das druckgraphische Werk 1967-1992, 16 January - 7 March (catalogue Impressions graphiques. L’opera grafica 1967-1992 di Giulio Paolini [Turin: Marco Noire Editore, 1992], cat. no. 31). |
| 1995 | Lisbon, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian / Centro de Arte Moderna José de Azeredo Perdigão, Giulio Paolini. Impressions graphiques. Múltiplos e Obra Gráfica 1969-1995, 16 March - 28 May, not repr. in the exhibition brochure (catalogue Impressions graphiques. L’opera grafica 1967-1992 di Giulio Paolini [Turin: Marco Noire Editore, 1992], cat. no. 31). |
| 1996 | Nice, Musée d’Art Moderne et d’Art Contemporain, Arte Povera. Les multiples, 23 March - 16 June, cited in the checklist of exhibited works p. 38, not repr. |
| 1996 | Apolda, Kunsthaus Apolda Avantgarde, Giulio Paolini. Impressions graphiques, 27 September - 27 October (catalogue Impressions graphiques. L’opera grafica 1967-1992 di Giulio Paolini [Turin: Marco Noire Editore, 1992], cat. no. 31). |
| 1997 | Göppingen, Kunsthalle, Giulio Paolini. Impressions graphiques. Das graphische Druckwerk 1967-1995, 9 March - 13 April (catalogue Impressions graphiques. L’opera grafica 1967-1992 di Giulio Paolini [Turin: Marco Noire Editore, 1992], cat. no. 31). |
| 2000 | Turin, Archivio di Stato, Tirannicidi II-III: la Stampa e la Fotografia, 6 September - 15 October. |
| 2001 | Milan, Association Jacqueline Vodoz et Bruno Danese, Impressions Graphiques. L’opera grafica di Giulio Paolini, 1967-2000, 17 May - 22 June, not repr. |
| 2002 | Paris, Istituto Italiano di Cultura, Impressions graphiques. L’œuvre graphique de Giulio Paolini 1967-2000, 23 April - 21 May, no catalogue. |
| • | Impressions graphiques. L’opera grafica 1967-1992 di Giulio Paolini (Turin: Marco Noire Editore, 1992), cat. no. 31 (with incorrect indication of the edition size), col. repr. (artist’s proof). |
| • | J. Lund, “The space of thought”, in Art in Context 3 (Oslo: Museet for Samtidskunst, 2000), repr. p. 12 (artist’s proof). |
| • | M. Disch, Giulio Paolini. Catalogo ragionato 1960-1999, vol. 1 (Milan: Skira editore, 2008), cat. no. 387 p. 393, not repr. |
