Christoph Büchel: Monte Di Pietà (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9788887029895)

A labyrinthine artist's book combining ancient, medieval and modern texts on socioeconomic thought

Conceived by conceptual artist Christoph Büchel (born 1966), this book comprises a selection of 120 texts composed of 108 reprints from ancient manuscripts, books and periodicals, and 12 newly commissioned essays, all connected with the themes explored in the "Monte di Pietà" exhibition project. The texts are presented in a unique chronological order, superimposed on the 616 pages of the Summa de arithmetica, geometria, proportioni et proportionalita, an influential compendium by the mathematician and Franciscan friar Luca Pacioli (1445-1517) composed of four books on arithmetic, algebra and geometry. The reprints and essays are printed over most of the contents of the Summa, while some parts (illuminated decorations, initials, figures, charts, single pages or full spreads) are left visible.