Valentina delle rose, 1984
GPO-0536
Valentina of the Roses
Pencil and collage on paper, artificial roses
Two framed parts 50 x 70 cm each, overall dimensions 135 x 70 cm
Valentina Bonomo Collection
By means of an optical illusion, the placing together in vertical of two framed elements, topped by a bouquet of artificial flowers, evokes the image of a figure offering a bouquet of roses. The lower element serves as a base, while the upper one drawn in pencil outlines the support plane of the kneeling figure (taken from a drawing by Jean-Auguste Dominique Ingres)1, who seems to be holding the flowers arranged above the frame. Some torn fragments of a colour reproduction – predominantly yellow-orange, like the colour of the roses – are scattered across the two framed sheets in the manner of fallen petals, establishing a further link with the artificial flowers. The title refers to Valentina Bonomo, to whom the artist dedicated the work to thank her for a floral gift.
1 The outlined figure is taken from the reproduction of the Study of the angel for the Vow of Louis XIII by Ingres.
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, study for the right angel of the painting Le Vœu de Louis XIII (1824, Notre-Dame de l'Assomption Cathedral, Montauban), black pencil and white highlights on grey-blue paper, 35.5 x 35.8 cm.
| 1985 | Rome, Galleria Pieroni, Giulio Paolini. Giochi d’acqua, from 15 February. |
| • | Mater dulcissima, exhibition catalogue, Siracusa, Chiesa dei Cavalieri di Malta (Syracuse: Edizioni Tema Celeste, 1986), repr. no. 45 p. 82. |
| • | G. Paolini, Suspense. Breve storia del vuoto in tredici stanze (Florence: Hopeful Monster editore, 1988), repr. p. 233. |
| • | F. Poli, Giulio Paolini (Turin: Lindau, 1990), repr. no. 52. |
| • | M. Disch, Giulio Paolini. Catalogo ragionato 1960-1999, vol. 2 (Milan: Skira editore, 2008), cat. no. 536 p. 547, col. repr. |
| • | In viaggio per l’arte. La Galleria Pieroni 1975-1992, exhibition catalogue, Rome, MAXXI Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo (Rome: Quodlibet Edizioni, 2025), repr. p. 63 (exhibition view Rome 1985). |
