THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO
"Cy Twombly: The Natural World" is the first exhibition to be held in the Art Institute of Chicago's new Modern Wing. The catalogue purposefully distances itself from previous Twombly publications which tended, like his paintings, to be large in scale. The modest 7 x 9.5" trim size is intended to evoke a work of literature rather than an artist's coffee table book. Much of Twombly's work, either through titling, or the handwritten text that is often included, alludes to specific pieces of classic literature.
Additionally, Twombly lives a portion of the year in Italy, and has been inspired throughout his career by the rich history of Europe. The font chosen for the title, Trajan, was itself influenced by the letters carved by Romans during the first century AD. (Incidentally, the designer of the font is named Carol Twombly!) The traditional formatting, with text centered and stamped on the cloth binding, is similar to countless works of literature found on library shelves. The partial dust jacket features a painting in it's entirety, which thus dictated the height of the jacket and subsequent placement of the text. Printed on uncoated paper, a dark green spot color was used for all text throughout the book.
