Saul Steinberg

In 1930s Milan, Saul Steinberg carved out a small world of his own in the Città degli Studi, an area that was to encompass virtually his entire existence. He lived there, studied there, socialised there and worked there. A celebrated drawing of the Palazzo di Giustizia in Milan shows the tram to Lambrate. The journey in the video follows the tram’s route, which surprisingly coincides with Steinberg’s own stops across the city. The same route and stops recur obsessively in his memories, forming the roots of his work; they creep into his drawings, merging with the place names of other cities; or else they are distilled by his memory and superimposed on later visions of the same places. The tram to Lambrate carries not only its passengers but also Steinberg’s memories.