History of a Gesture
The Reasons Behind an Exhibition

Salvatore Settis presents the themes and motivations underlying the exhibition Storia di un gesto: il mito di Meleagro dall’arte classica a Warburg, a Picasso.

Starting from the Roman sarcophagus depicting the Death of Meleager, presented to the public for the first time, the talk retraces the development of the exhibition project, highlighting the dialogue between archaeology, art history, and image theory.

At the center of the reflection is the “biography” of a gesture — a figure with arms thrown backward, an expression of despair — that spans the centuries, from antiquity to the contemporary era, re-emerging at key moments in the history of art. The lecture thus offers a privileged insight into the rationale behind the exhibition and the methodological approach that guided its development.