Art and Text

The relationship between literature and the visual arts must be understood as the challenge of “representation” of reality that creators face, where painting and words have never been independent compartments.

The representation of reality is the first intellectual gesture of humankind. Western cultural tradition is rooted in the story of Adam and Eve spending their first days in Paradise naming things, representing them through words. From that moment, two questions arise that have shaped our culture. The first is whether names are the consequence of things, a question that Shakespeare seeks to resolve through Juliet's words: “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet.” Secondly, the debate over what holds greater importance—painting or words—soon arises.

The art that emerged with the historical avant-garde movements, by revisiting and revolutionizing the problem of representation, acknowledges that literature and the visual arts share a common language. The personal relationships between painters and writers are the seed of this new art. It is within this context that the creation of these works must be understood.

Visitors to this exhibition will have the opportunity to enjoy, within this relational framework of word and space (logos and locus), the works of renowned masters of the 20th century and to discover or expand their knowledge of other essential artists.

Based on this overarching theme—the relationships between the visual arts and literature—the exhibition is divided into the following sections and centers around the following artists: