Parnaso, 1977-78
GPO-0384
Parnassus
Pencil, nails and crown with bay leaves on primed canvas
Central canvas 48 x 70 cm, side canvases 140 x 38.5 cm each, overall dimensions 140 x 210 cm
Private collection
The vanishing point simulated by two trapezoidal canvases converges in the central canvas, which holds down a diadem of bay leaves. The perspectival simulation is corroborated by the nails and by the thickness drawn in pencil along one vertical side of the trapezoidal canvases.
The title refers to the mountain in Greek mythology that was consecrated to the worship of the god Apollo and was inhabited by the nine Muses. Along with the diadem, a symbolic attribute of the poet, the citation locates the space of the representation (evoked by way of the perspectival construction) as belonging to the classical dimension of Art.
This work is part of six variants on the theme, made from 1977 to 1979 (GPO-0375, GPO-0384, GPO-0394, GPO-0395, GPO-0404, GPO-0416).
| 1978 | Turin, Galleria Christian Stein, Giulio Paolini. Il giudizio di Paride, from 8 May. |
| 1979-80 | Genazzano, Castello Colonna, Stanze, 30 November 1979 - 29 February 1980, not repr. |
| • | Giulio Paolini. Premio Bolaffi 1980 (Turin: Giulio Bolaffi Editore, 1980), repr. p. 25 (exhibition view Turin 1978). |
| • | Der Traum des Orpheus. Mythologie in der italienischen Gegenwartskunst 1967 bis 1984, exhibition catalogue, Munich, Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, 1984, repr. p. 89 (exhibition view Turin 1978). |
| • | M. Disch, Giulio Paolini. Catalogo ragionato 1960-1999, vol. 1 (Milan: Skira editore, 2008), cat. no. 384 p. 390, repr. |
| • | Giulio Paolini. O.D.E., exhibition catalogue, Monforte d’Alba (Cuneo), Castello di Perno (Alba: Fondazione Mancini Carini, 2022), repr. p. 125 (exhibition view Turin 1978). |
