About this artwork
This portfolio contains a set of lithographic prints of handwritten poems by Jean Cocteau and illustrations by artist Giorgio de Chirico. It is not conventionally bound, there is a tactile element to untying the book’s three ribbon-like restraints in order to view its loose-leaf content. Chirico’s illustrations have a distinct throughline of jagged, zig-zagging lines representing water in various forms: lakes, rivers, swimming pools and streams. Figures of nude bathers wade and soak, observed by men in suits and classical sculptures in tightly cropped spaces. Cocteau’s choice to print the text in his handwriting instead of letterpress is unusual, in that it calls attention to the physical act of writing in ways that wouldn’t have been possible with conventional forms of printed text. The florid script, personal like a handwritten letter, takes on a unique visual character, eroding the barriers between drawing and poetry.
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Status
- Currently Off View
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Department
- Ryerson and Burnham Libraries Special Collections
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Artist
- Giorgio de Chirico
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Title
- Mythologie
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Place
- Paris (Object made in:)
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Date
- 1934
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Medium
- Portfolio of loose leaves containing twelve pages of printed text lithographed from author's handwritten manuscript and ten lithographic illustrations, signed and numbered
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Edition
- number 88
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Inscriptions
- Prints are signed by de Chirico in graphite and numbered 88/120
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Dimensions
- 28.5 × 23 cm (11 1/4 × 9 1/16 in.)
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Credit Line
- Mary Reynolds Collection, Ryerson & Burnham Libraries
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Reference Number
- 2019.937
Extended information about this artwork
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.
