Delfo (V), 2022

In the foreground, the artist is viewed from the rear as he proceeds on his visit to the Glyptotheque in Munich, in the role of an anonymous spectator. His gaze embraces the collection of Roman art, while his hands crossed behind his back bear a perspectival drawing recalling the museum floor. The drawing is intersected by the falling of photographic fragments with a cosmic motif, in particular by the image of the moon, located in the area corresponding to the vanishing point of the perspectival drawing.
In line with the four previous versions of the series of self-portraits titled Delfo – made in 1965, 1968, 1977, and 1997, respectively – the author identifies with the role of the viewer. He does not reveal an oracular response; rather, he listens, in an attitude of contemplation. His gaze inscribes a temporal perspective, which identifies the classical as the context of reference. The drawing and the cosmic milieu instead refer to a spatial and metaphysical perspective, which identifies the Absolute as the distinctive cipher of art. It is a sublime and incommensurable dimension, towards which the author always directs his gaze from scratch, even though he is aware that it cannot be captured in its completeness, as is suggested by the fragmentation and the laceration of the cosmic images. In the space of the representation – evoked by the perspectival drawing – the author can only limit himself to intercepting an echo of that ineffable dimension.