Le tre Grazie, 1978

The names of the three Graces – Aglaia, Euphrosyne, and Thalia – written in autograph calligraphy and in the three primary colours, respectively yellow, red, and blue, are repeated three times, in the same sequence, but scaling the beginning of the triad (the first line begins with Aglaia, the second one with Euphrosyne, the third one with Thalia). Three arrows connect the same name that is repeated – with the same colour as well – so as to originate the drawing of an eye.
The permutation of the names, albeit governed by a precise rule, remains closed circuit; similarly, the image of the eye, albeit generated by a logical criterion, remains enmeshed in the vertigo of the writing. Broadly speaking, the silent writing and the blind eye lead back to the subject designated by the three names: the deities of Grace, which in Greek mythology represent Splendour (Aglaia), Joy (Euphrosyne), and Richness (Talia). Hence, they recall an absolute dimension: no eye will ever be able to capture it, nor will language ever be able to visualize it fully.
By way of the themes at play, the print is related to the large-scale works with the same titles made for the solo show at the Galerie Yvon Lambert in Paris in 1978 (GPO-0379, GPO-0380, GPO-0381). The permutation and the circular tale are also typical devices in Paolini's production from the second half of the 1970s (cf. among the large-scale works, Delos, 1976, GPO-0333, Novero, 1977, GPO-0353, Il Giudizio di Paride, 1978, GPO-0383).
The original drawing on which the print is based is documented in the online Catalogue Raisonné of the works on paper at number GPC-0462.