Emulsion on canvas of a photograph of American film director D.W. Griffith (1875–1948), shown seated, directing on set. Considered one of the fathers of American cinema, Griffith is a controversial figure, especially for his film The Birth of a Nation (1915), a milestone in movie history, a box-office blockbuster that was also one of the most racist films ever made in the US, so much so that its theatrical release provoked bitter controversy, unrest and rioting. The director’s photo is framed by a black border, a hallmark feature of Mauri’s Schermi (Screens), and traversed by a white inscription, ‘DIRECTOR’. The work exists in two different versions of different sizes (inv. 206, 773). For greater insight into the concept of ‘schermo’ in Mauri’s work, see the introductory essays.