For me they signify infinity, the inconceivable thing, the end of figuration, the beginning of nothingness.
Format: Oval canvases, all of the same size
Total number: 38 works
Characteristic: Constellations of holes, tears, scratches on monochrome canvas
The works of this cycle, which took place entirely in the two-year period 1963-1964, are all created on oval canvases of the same size. They are characterized by "constellations" of holes, tears, scratches that in some cases affect only part of the monochrome canvas, while in others they characterize the entire surface. The cycle consists of only 38 works.
The End Of God cycle represents one of the highest moments of Fontana's artistic maturity, in which his research on space, matter, gesture, and concept are emblematically combined. The oval shape, unprecedented compared to traditional rectangular formats, alludes to a cosmic egg, a symbol of origin and end, of creation and mystery.
The power of these works lies in their visual and conceptual ambiguity: shiny, brilliant surfaces, often traversed by violent gestures — holes, tears, incisions — that seem to wound the skin of the canvas to open it to another dimension. This process has deep roots in Fontana's sculptural training, having graduated in sculpture from the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in 1930 under the guidance of Adolfo Wildt.
In End Of God as well, therefore, the artistic gesture becomes sculptural: the painting becomes object, the canvas assumes a volume, and the light, filtering through the holes and slits, creates a perceptual play that actively involves the viewer. The monochrome color — red, gold, black, pink, yellow — reinforces the symbolic and ritual charge of the works, which evoke spiritual but also physical and carnal universes.
These 38 works, today preserved in international public and private collections, are considered among the most radical and emblematic of the 20th century, a perfect synthesis of conceptual art, gestural painting, and cosmic vision. With End Of God, Fontana reaches an expressive depth that transcends the traditional limits of painting and asserts a new conception of the work of art as a spatial and philosophical experience.
