Science in Contemporary Art: “The Three Men” by Cesare Catania

Since ancient times, there has always been a link between art and science originated by the universal human desire to understand and to describe the reality around us, and often artists have also been scientists.

An example of such intersection are the works of the famous Italian artist Cesare Catania, also known as a sculptor and a civil engineer. The majority of his work involves creating large paintings that represent a mix of tradition, like oil painting on canvas, and scientific innovation. His work draws inspiration from such areas, as mathematics, anatomy and music. One of Cesare Catania’s most famous artworks, a contemporary tapestry «The Three Men» (2016-17), demonstrates how science achievements, even the historical ones that we used to study at school, are integrated in our everyday life.

Cesare Catania’s "The Three Men" is an aesthetically engaging painting that wants to embrace all the knowledge from the ancient Greeks to today. This artwork, full of fundamental mathematical references, should be considered as a tribute to three greatest scientists whose discoveries changed for ever our perception of the reality: Amedeo Avogadro, Pythagoras and Heisenberg.

This large contemporary art painting, as well as other 40 masterpieces by Cesare Catania, are currently being exhibited on his official website as part of the virtual exhibition "Retrospective 2020": an updated selection that brings into a new focus the topics elaborated by Cesare Catania in the last few years.