Surface Order and Inner Grammar: A Computational and Phenomenological Analysis of Three Paintings by Carlo Zinelli

Surface Order and Inner Grammar: A Computational and Phenomenological Analysis of Three Paintings by Carlo Zinelli I. Introduction Carlo Zinelli’s (1916–1974) drawings have long occupied an ambiguous space between art and psychiatry. Traditionally categorized as art brut, they have often been interpreted as spontaneous eruptions of inner chaos, disconnected from the conventions of artistic training (Dubuffet, 1949). This framework, although historically understandable, obscures a crucial fact: Zinelli’s images display a remarkable internal order, confirmed by digital structural analysis that maps recurrent verticals, rhythmic intervals, and consistent spatial modules across different works. Their apparent irregularity hides a system of rules, recurrences, and constraints that is neither random nor pathological, but deeply human. In recent years, advances in computational linguistics have allowed us to analyze spoken and written psychiatric discourse not as disorganized symptom-collections but as structured languages with recurring motifs, thematic fields, and underlying cognitive grammars. Our previous analyses of verbal material — including the delusional narrative of Matteo (Burti 2025a), the disorganized interview of ARA (Burti 2025b), and the symbolic layering of Rosalba (to be published) — have shown that psychosis often represents an alternative mode of organizing meaning, rather than a rupture of meaning itself. This paper extends that approach from language to image. We present a structural and computational analysis of three paintings by Carlo Zinelli, selected because they exemplify distinct “modes” of his visual grammar: • Processional mode — red human figures arranged vertically and marked by circular perforations • Polyphonic mode — a densely populated field of micro-scenes, vehicles, tools, animals, houses, and hybrid forms • Topological mode — repeated quadruped-like figures arranged in horizontal waves, underlain by crowds, carts, and rhythmic dot textures Despite their differences, all three paintings exhibit the same deep structural operations: • a limited lexicon of recurring glyphs, • a serial-modular syntax based on repetition-with-variation, • a restricted color grammar with stable semantic functions, • and a narrative logic that can be processional, polyphonic, or topological depending on context. The result is a visual system that resembles textile weaving or musical composition: the paintings behave like scores, mythic friezes, or maps—more than like realistic scenes. Our goal is not to diagnose Zinelli’s work nor reduce it to psychopathology. Our aim is to demonstrate that: Zinelli’s paintings are structured expressions of a universal human grammar, articulated in a less conventional but fully coherent way. By applying segmentation, clustering, and motif analysis — minimal computational techniques adapted from discourse analysis — we show that Zinelli’s imagery is rule-governed, internally consistent, and remarkably stable across time and theme. This shifts the discussion away from “outsider art” and toward a cognitive-semiotic perspective: the paintings reveal how a human being, even under conditions of psychiatric suffering, continues to generate meaning through patterned, rhythmic, grammatical form. Interlude: Literature and Context Recent work in figurative art analysis has experimented with computational semantics. Scholars have begun to treat visual images as possessing latent semantic grammars, applying methods such as scene-graph extraction, visual topic modeling, and text–image embedding models (e.g., CLIP) to identify objects, relations, and symbolic clusters. Parallel developments in computational iconography have used machine-learning to classify motifs and map their recurrence across image corpora, often building on the Iconclass ontology. Other researchers explore the narrative organization of visual works, using structural–semantic models inspired by Greimas or by contemporary theories of visual narrative. Despite these advances, almost no study has addressed the semantics of Outsider Art from a structural or narrative perspective. In this context, reading Zinelli’s compositions through a dramatic grammar — with subject-columns, lateral actions, and a centripetal contextual field — appears both original and aligned with emerging international trends in computational interpretation of figurative artworks. II. Materials and Methods A. Extending Computational Discourse Analysis to Visual Art Our previous work applied computational semantics to verbal psychiatric discourse — including delusional narratives (Matteo), surreal responses in clinical dialogue (ARA), and autobiographical testimonies (Rosalba). These analyses used topic modeling, semantic clustering, contextual embeddings, and frequency mapping to identify latent structures beneath surface irregularities. Here, we extend the same logic to visual artworks. Although images cannot be reduced to text without loss, they can be examined using parallel computational strategies: 1. Segmentation The surface is divided into small rectangular regions functioning like “sentences.” Segments reveal local motifs, density clusters, and the spatial distribution of glyphs. 2. Image Embeddings Each segment is conceptualized as a vector defined by color distribution, edge orientation, texture, shape complexity, and glyph density. Structurally similar segments cluster together — just as semantically similar sentences do. 3. Clustering Clusters represent visual “topics”: humanoid figures, animals, tools, vehicles, textures, micro-scenes, and architectural or pastoral elements. 4. Pattern Frequency Recurrent motifs function as lexical items. Tracking their distribution supports a computationally grounded reading of the paintings as discourses rather than chaotic imagery. B. Phenomenological and Narrative Framework This computational approach is integrated with a phenomenological–narrative framework inspired by: • Propp: functions and repetitive structures • Greimas: actants and deep narrative grammar • Giampaolo Lai: world-construction and paths of meaning Paintings are not treated as symptoms but as world-building devices, revealing: • the organization of perception, • the ontology of the painter, • the deep grammar shaping experience. This dual method — computational + phenomenological — avoids both reductionism and mystification. III. Analysis of the Three Paintings A. Painting 1 — Processional Grammar: Red Figures with Perforations This painting shows rows or columns of red humanoid figures, pierced by circular holes, against a minimal background. 1. Lexicon A single glyph dominates: the standing human figure, repeated with slight variations, producing a serial individuality. 2. Syntax The figures align in vertical bands reminiscent of religious friezes, processions, or heraldic registers. The eye moves vertically, producing a liturgical rhythm. 3. Color Grammar Red = body / person / subject. The holes = empty operators, countable units, missing organs, or symbolic apertures. 4. Narrative Logic No explicit story occurs. Meaning lies in iconic stabilization of the human type. This is Zinelli’s most “vertical” grammar: repetition stabilizes identity. B. Painting 2 — Polyphonic Grammar: The Dense Field of Micro-Scenes This is the most complex painting, densely populated by small figures, animals, tools, vehicles, and hybrid scenes. 1. Lexicon The visual vocabulary multiplies. Segmentation and clustering show highly consistent motifs: mother-and-child groups, boats, animals in profile, elongated humanoids, tools, and ritual-like assemblies. 2. Syntax Despite apparent disorder, the painting organizes itself through horizontal banding, rhythmic density shifts, and echoing motifs. 3. Color Grammar Muted reds, blacks, and yellows form semantic zones: Red = event/focus; Black = mass/texture; Yellow = iconic highlight. 4. Narrative Logic The field behaves like a polyphonic memory map: many micro-scenes co-exist without hierarchy. It is not disorder but distributed order. C. Painting 3 — Topological Grammar: Repeated Quadruped Forms in Horizontal Rows The figures resemble quadrupeds but resist precise identification; their function is structural rather than representational. 1. Lexicon Main glyph: the repeated quadruped-like form, arranged in horizontal rows. Secondary motifs include tiny red events, black crowds, and green ground. 2. Syntax A modular grid emerges: Quadrupeds = macro-units Red micro-scenes = focal nodes Black strokes = population/texture Green = terrestrial limit 3. Color Grammar Yellow/ochre = macro-body Red = event/crisis Black = serial crowd Green = ground/limit 4. Narrative Logic This is the topological mode: world as patterned territory, repetition as ontology. It evokes weaving, migration diagrams, pastoral cosmograms, and medieval patterned fields. IV. Cross-Painting Grammar Across the three works, Zinelli deploys a coherent deep grammar. 1. Lexicon A stable set of glyphs: humans, animals, vehicles, tools, repetitive marks. 2. Spatial Syntax Banding (vertical/horizontal), repetition-with-variation, grid organization, planar rhythm. 3. Color Grammar Color as structural operator: red for event/body, black for mass/texture, ochre for macro-body, green for ground. 4. Narrative Logic Three modes: Processional (vertical), Polyphonic (distributed), Topological (horizontal). Different surfaces; same computational principles. V. Discussion A. Surface vs. Deep Grammar Though Zinelli’s surfaces may appear crowded or chaotic, segmentation and clustering reveal stable modules, functional color systems, and recursive embedding. The “inner grammar” reflects order without classical realism. B. Universal Human Grammar, Less Conventionally Filtered Zinelli’s art does not show a collapse of organization but a mode less constrained by representational norms. It resembles mythic friezes, cosmograms, textile rhythms, and biological recursions — pointing to universal cognitive patterning. C. Clinical Implications A structural reading of Zinelli counters pathologizing tendencies: • Patients may express coherent cognitive structures even in severe illness. • Apparent bizarreness can mask deep internal order. • Clinicians should attend to the rules governing patient productions. • Computational methods can support phenomenological empathy. VI. Conclusions Across three paintings, Zinelli displays a stable, internally coherent grammar: limited glyphs, modular syntax, functional color, consistent spatial logic, and three narrative modes. His work reflects not chaos but universal cognitive structuring, less filtered by conventional norms. It becomes a privileged entry into human world-building. Acknowledgment of AI Assistance Parts of this article benefited from the use of advanced AI tools (e.g., large language models and machine-assisted text analysis). These tools were employed exclusively for supporting tasks — such as organizing notes, refining wording, checking internal coherence, and exploring alternative formulations — while all conceptual content, interpretive frameworks, analytic decisions, and final text choices remain fully the responsibility of the author. AI systems did not generate original data, nor did they determine the structure or conclusions of the study. Their role was instrumental and subordinate, comparable to that of a sophisticated editorial assistant. Every theoretical claim, clinical interpretation, and final formulation reflects the author’s independent judgment. Image Credits Images of Carlo Zinelli’s works reproduced for scholarly purposes from publicly available online sources. All rights remain with their respective holders. References Burti, L. Delusion as Symbolic Dramaturgy: The ARA Case, Version 2, Zenodo (8 November 2025), DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17559596. Burti, L. Seeking Meaning in the Incomprehensibility of Delusional Speech: A Narrative, Semiotic, and AI-Based Analysis, Version 1.0, Zenodo (4 October 2025), DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17266374. Dubuffet, J. (1949). L’Art Brut préféré aux arts culturels. In: Prospectus et tous écrits suivants (vol. 1). Paris: Gallimard. Greimas, A. J. (1966). Sémantique structurale. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France (trad. it.: Semantica strutturale, Milano: Rizzoli, 1968). Propp V.J. (1928). Morfologija skazki. Leningrad: Academia. (trad. it.: Morfologia della fiaba. Torino: Einaudi, 1966). Lai G. (1974). Le parole del primo colloquio. Torino: Boringhieri.