Hundertwasser's comment on the work

I painted on the extended Lido of Venice - the Lido is a long island. It begins with the Lido as such and goes down to Chioggia. But the Lido is separated from the other island by a channel. The first town on the other island is called San Pietro in Volta, then comes Palestrina, and between San Pietro and Palestrina is a long, slender stretch of land where vintners are. Back then I didn't have much money, and when I came to Venice I immediately proceeded to Sant' Elena and from there crossed over with the vaporetto. Then I went on foot until there were no more houses and lay down to sleep in the sand or got into ahut and slept there. Then I lived for a time in such a hut. The picture is called "The Calculation" because I then had, I think, 12,000 lire. I had resolved to live there three months, so I had to divide the 12,000 lire by 90 - 90 days - and that meant that I could spend 133 lire per day. I wrote that down on the paper. And around that I wound this picture. After a few days the vintner came by. He was very nice. Instead of being angry, he always gave me grapes and something to eat, too, and it was a very happy time for me. I did not stay three months, at that, but I was there a long time. (from: Hundertwasser, Buchheim Verlag, Feldafing, 1964 and ed. 1973, p. 38)