Dit autrefois “Gilles”, 1995
GPO-0911
Collage on framed passepartout, black metal frame
102 x 71.5 cm
Titled, signed, and dated on the verso, upper centre: “Dit autrefois “Gilles” / Giulio Paolini / 1995”
Collection of the artist
Featured in the lower part of the framed white passepartout are the torn fragments of a photographic reproduction of the Gilles painted by Jean-Antoine Watteau (Pierrot, dit autrefois Gilles, 1718-19), including the figure’s feet (the corners of some of the fragments overlook the space of the empty central part). The upper part of the body subtracts itself from the identification: at the centre, the second frame – a smaller one, and identical to the outer one arranged on the wall – is empty.
The sequence of frames evokes the portrait of a figure, however dispersing the image through the fragmentation and the blind “window” at the centre.
The same theme was also developed in another version from the same year (GPO-0765).
Jean-Antoine Watteau, Pierrot, dit autrefois Gilles, 1718-19, oil on canvas, 184 x 149 cm, Musée du Louvre, Paris.
| 1996 | Paris, Galerie Yvon Lambert, Giulio Paolini. L'Île enchantée, 6 January - 17 February. |
