Yves Klein and Hysterical Marks of Authority

In 1961 Klein anonymously deposited an ex-voto at the Convent of Santa Rita in Cascia, Italy. It was a devotion to aid his new commission for the Gelsenkirchen Opera House, Germany. The offering took the form of a small see-through plastic box containing five compartments: one filled with blue pigment, one with pink pigment, one with gold leaf, and the other two with the prayer text and three gold bars from his sale of the Void. This object is clearly animated by belief. The private prayer that Klein wrote asks for success in his new commission, protection from enemies, and the longevity of his art.