Abstract

The iconic nature of the dream makes it impossible, according to Freud, to express the syntactic connections: the task of interpretation is to reconstruct these connections. They can only be expressed through writing, what makes the dream, says Freud, a sort of rebus, combining words and images. This scriptural aspect of the dream, as a trace of the dream work, can also be found in the work of art, when its figurative character is overcome in favour of its symbolic dimension. This is shown through a discussion of Heidegger’s understanding of the truth of the work of art, referring first to a picture (van Gogh’s canvas) and then to a non-representational work, the Greek temple. The work of art has a scriptural, diagrammatic nature as a trace of the event that produced it. In the last part of the essay, Magritte’s painting, known for its inclusion of a writing «ceci n’est pas une pipe», is discussed, in order to show the complex relationship between image and writing