Giulio Paolini (Italian, b.1940) was a painter and sculptor associated with Arte Povera and Conceptual Art. Born in Genoa, Paolini trained as a graphic designer in Turin, and, early on, reacted against the conventions of Art informel by focusing on the essential aspects of painting, including canvas, frame, and single-color paint or no paint at all.

In 1965, Paolini began using photography as part of his continuing exploration of the relationship between artist and object. In the late 1960s, Paolini became one of the leading figures in the Arte Povera movement, though his approach to art was distinct from his peers. During the 1970s, he increasingly focused on a comprehensive investigation of the artistic cannon. He began reproducing details from works by masters, such as Diego Velázquez and Praxiteles, and either broke up or reassembled these details, or treated them like readymades. Paolini’s references to Classicism and Neo-Classicism, alongside his use of plaster casts, served to highlight his notions about the connectedness of past and present, and played on ideas of replication versus originality.

He has also created sets and costumes for theater productions, including projects designed by Carlo Quartucci in the 1980s and two Wagner works directed by Federico Tiezzi in 2005 and 2007.

Thoughout his career, he has held exhibitions in venues around the world, including the Palazzo della Pilotta in Parma, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, the Nouveau Musée in Villeurbanne, the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, the National Gallery of Modern Art in Rome, the Neue Galerie am Landesmuseum Joanneum in Graz, the Fondazione Prada in Milan, the Kunstmuseum Winterthur, and the Whitechapel Gallery in London. He has also participated in several Venice Biennales, as well as documenta exhibitions in Kassel.

The artist currently lives and works in Turin.