Subjective Stories in Paintings. W. G. Sebald - Tacita Dean - Cy Twombly

Abstract

This paper presents the work of three artists who stay in an astonishing kind of relationship: they are interconnected through a dialogue based on unbelievable coincidences. As marked in the title, the paper first touches upon the outstanding collection by W. G. Sebald, consisting of four books − exceptional narratives with photographs used to give credibility to his fictional stories. The series comprises the following titles: Vertigo (1990), The Emigrants (1992), The Rings of Saturn (1995) and Austerlitz (2001). Tacita Dean, who makes reference to the experiences and the artistic workshop of Sebald, Beyeus and Aby Warburg, sets up a continuum – an analogous form of continuity between the “German emigrant” and Cy Twombly – an artist whose presence in his own work is more than obvious. These artistic bonds and the deep relationship obtaining between the three figures help the reader discern their incessant search for an answer to the crucial question: Who am I?