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Notes
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Title
The Head of Invention
Date
1989
Medium
bronze
Measurements
H 200 x W 300 x D 229 cm
Accession number
W8_JR_S015
Work type
Sculpture
Work status
extant
Access
at all times
Signature/marks description
top of head: EDUARDO PAOLOZZI / 1989
Inscription description
base of neck: THOUGH HUMAN GENIUS / IN ITS VARIOUS INVENTIONS / WITH VARIOUS INSTRUMENTS / MAY ANSWER THE SAME END, / IT WILL NEVER FIND AN / INVENTION MORE BEAUTIFUL OR / MORE SIMPLE OR DIRECT THAN / NATURE, BECAUSE IN / HER INVENTIONS / NOTHING IS LACKING / AND NOTHING IS SUPERFLUOUS. / LEONARDO DA VINCI plaque: the head of invention / Eduardo Paolozzi / Eduardo Paolozzi made The Head of invention for Terence Conran in 1989. Paolozzi’s original inspiration was the head / of James Watt, inventor and manufacturer of steam engines. / The text, attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, is a reflection on / the nature of design. Thanks to the generous support of / the Paolozzi Foundation, the sculpture, which once stood in / front of the Design Museum’s original home by Tower Bridge, / was moved here in 2016.