Signed and dated lower centre right.
In his "Manifesto blanco" of 1946, Fontana defined his theory of "Spezialismo". He was on a quest for a new experience of space, not only for sculpture, but for painting as well. During this time a profound change took place in his work - from picture to object. He was concerned with opening up spaces by perforating the canvas or picture plane with sharp tools. So he opened monochrome canvasses in 1958 with a sharp knife. The resulting slash created the illusion of an infinite space behind it. In this way he penetrated the two-dimensionality of his work and opened another dimension. The artistic intention was to express emptiness as a positive element. Later he used the same principle on reliefs and oviform objects made of clay and bronze.
