The story behind

Who goes there? Is that a rider hiding under the circles and squares? Since this design by Gianpaolo Pagni is a nod to Italo Calvino's novel, The Nonexistent Knight, it's far from certain. The illustrator found inspiration in a series of equestrian lithographs from Imagerie de Nancy conserved in the Emile Hermès collection. Choosing to retain only the mount from this engraving design, he used stamped forms in geometric shapes to represent the riders' silhouettes in cubist style. The palm leaves all around are taken from a 16th century bestiary. Where Renaissance meets surrealism, this design is a colorful and graphic homage to early abstract art.