Ateneo, 1971-73

Sixteen gilt-framed diplomas with a floral motif each feature a name and a comment on art taken from the book Incontro di bimbi con i capolavori di Brera (Milan: Pinacoteca di Brera, 1959). Each “certificate” is signed and dated at the bottom by the artist: five elements are dated “24 October 1971”, one is dated “6 June 1972”, another is dated “9 December 1972”, four are dated “14 May 1973”, and five are dated “8 November 1973”. The texts read as follows: “Patrizia Giannelli / Io provo un senso di allegria e di confidenza davanti ai quadri del Luini [I feel happy and reassured when viewing paintings by Luini]”, “Gabriella Edifizi / Raffaello, un grande pittore italiano da Urbino, dolce, giovane, elegante, morto a 37 anni [Raphael, a great Italian painter from Urbino, gentle, young, elegant, who died at the age of 37]”, “Alberto Ferrari / Io non so spiegarmi perché un quadro mi piace più di un altro [I can’t explain why I like one painting more than another]”, “Daniela Celli / Io diventerò una pittrice [I’m going to be a painter]”, “Rossana Leoni / Il Canaletto è un pittore che fa dei quadri con figure ferme [Canaletto is a painter who makes paintings with motionless figures]”, “Elena Zini / I colori erano e sono molto belli [The colours were and are very beautiful]”, “Maria Luisa Luchesa / Certa gente non capisce questo quadro [Some people don’t understand this painting]”, “Sante Bitto / Mi sono accorto che la pittura mi piace [I realized that I like painting]”, “Cristiano Casati / La scena sembra che si svolga alle ore 12 (mezzogiorno) [It looks as though the scene takes place at 12 (noon)]”, “Giuliana Ongarato / Vicino c’è un fiume, di là del fiume c’è un paesaggio [There’s a river close by, and beyond the river is a landscape]”, “Luigi Mancini / Guardo le cose, cerco di ricordarle e di rifarle [I look at things, I try to remember them and make them over again]”, “Mauro Benelli / Mi piacerebbe andare a scuola di pittura, ma più di tutto vorrei tornare a casa [I’d like to go to painting school , but what I’d really like to do is go home]”, “Maria Chiara Sozzani / Mi ha colpito l’espressione del Santo [I was struck by the expression on the Saint’s face]”, “Grazia Crivellaro / Oh, Santa Caterina! io ti ho visto nell’affresco [Oh, Saint Catherine! I saw you in the fresco]”, “Enrica Cattaneo-Sala / Io questo quadro lo chiamerei: Disperazione [I’d call this painting: Desperation]”, “Paola Mandolini / A me sembrava di essere in quel posto [I felt like I was there]”.
“In Ateneo my intention was to emphasize the words uttered by some children while visiting the Pinacoteca di Brera. By writing them down on diplomas I purchased at a stationer's, I nominate myself to be the dispenser of merit awards for these children, who, after observing the paintings in the museum, expressed some touching thoughts: the phrases become the title and the profession of those who uttered them”1, Paolini later remarked.
By underwriting these voices as the images of his own personal emotions, "never written down, yet not forgotten"2, Paolini takes possession of these comments dated to the period that came before his artistic activity and the maturity of his identity as a painter (cf. with regard to the theme of identity are other works made during the same year, like La Doublure, 1972-73, GPO-0246 and Museo, 1971-73, GPO-0253).

1 G. Paolini in conversation with I. Bernardi, 12 December 2012.
2 G. Paolini in Giulio Paolini. Atto unico in tre quadri, exhibition catalogue, Milan, Studio Marconi (Milan: Gabriele Mazzotta editore, 1979), p. 104.