Reader, Collector, Creator

Books in Cy Twombly’s Artistic Practice

Abstract

Contrary to the thought that knowledge could hinder the artist’s imagination, this paper aims to demonstrate, through the example of Cy Twombly, that books can be not only a source of creation, inspiration, and knowledge but also an active element in the late twentieth-century painter’s artistic practice. The study of the books found in the artist’s collection reveals how the painter uses them as a medium that, through his treatment and active reading, transforms into an artwork. These same books serve as a source of inspira- tion for the creation of his paintings. At the same time, Twombly creates his own books out of handmade paper. This lesser-known practice offers Twombly a boundless field of experimentation, a new form of art in the tradition of the livre d’artiste. The analysis of these three different aspects of Twombly’s use of books in his creative process allows us to study the book itself as an object of collection, as a source of inspiration, and as both a material and intellectual form of knowledge.