The “nude figure” is Oedipus. But the Greek inscription is much more relevant here ―on the ex-libris of the father of psychoanalysis― than the fact that a Oedipus is naked. The Greek inscription reads: “oV ta klein ainigmata hdei, kai kratistoV hn anhr”. It’s taken from Sophocles’ Oedipus King (vv. 1525) and it means:

The one who understood that celebrated riddle. He was the most powerful of men.

“Vik Muniz (born 1961) is a Brazilian born, New York based artist who experiments with media. […] In his picture of Sigmund Freud, he uses chocolate to render the image. For his Sugar Children series, Muniz went to a sugar plantation in St. Kitts to photograph children of laborers who work there. After he returned to New York, he bought some black paper and several kinds of sugar, and copied the snapshots of the children by layering the different types of sugar on the paper and photographing it. He made the images from the sugar at the plantation.” (Wikipedia)

Watch a TEDTalk video by Vik Muniz

“The dreamer invents his own grammar. No meaningful material or prior text exists which he might simply use, even if he never deprives himself of them. Such is, despite their interest, the limitation of the Chiffriermethode and the Traumbuch. As much as of the generality and the rigidity of the code, that limitation is a function of an excessive preoccupation with contents, an insufficient concern for relations, locations, processes, and differences (…)”

Quoted from “Freud and the scene of writing” by Jacques Derrida ([1966]1972), tr. by Jeffrey Mehlman, Yale French Studies, no 48, p. 89 (PDF available upon subscription to JSTOR).

Previously on Skandalon : Freud

Nick Dewar: Freud (painted pictures)

“Born in Scotland, grew up in a small fishing town on the East Coast and attended Art School in Glasgow, lived in Prague, London, New York and on a sheep farm in Cumbria. After living in New York for nearly ten years I have recently moved to Southern California. I no longer have to bathe in my kitchen.” (more)

All works by Sigmund Freud have entered the public domain as of January 1st, 2010:

“Under European Union law all books, poems and paintings pass into the public domain 70 years after the death of their creator. At midnight last night the works of artists and thinkers who died throughout 1939 slipped out of copyright, meaning they can be reprinted and posted on the internet without incurring royalties.” (Telegraph.co.uk: “WB Yeats and Sigmund Freud works posted on Wikipedia as copyright expires” by Matthew Moore, Jan 1st, 2010)

Read also “Public Domain Day or welcome out Sigmund Freud” on Digital-Rights.net. You can browse major works by Sigmund Freud on Wikipedia.