giorgio de chirico artwork
De Chirico met and married his first wife, the Russian ballerina Raissa Gurievich (1894-1979) in 1925, and together they moved to Paris. [19] His relationship with the Surrealists grew increasingly contentious, as they publicly disparaged his new work; by 1926 he had come to regard them as “cretinous and hostile”. [20] They soon parted ways in acrimony. In 1928 he held his first exhibition in New York City and shortly afterwards, London. He wrote essays on art and other subjects, and in 1929 published a novel entitled Hebdomeros, the Metaphysician. Also in 1929, he made stage designs for Sergei Diaghilev. [9]
The box art for Fumito Ueda’s PlayStation 2 game Ico sold in Japan and Europe was strongly influenced by de Chirico. [41] The cover art of New Order’s single “Thieves Like Us” is based on de Chirico’s painting The Evil Genius of a King. [42]
Oil on canvas – Peggy Guggenheim collection
Not to be confused with a 1917 painting simply entitled The Melancholy of Departure, the present work, Gare Montparnasse (The Melancholy of Departure), was dubbed an “architectonic masterpiece” by Robert Hughes. The presence of the architecture is central to its power, yet it is the way de Chirico treats the architecture that is so innovative; it is not intended to represent a particular place, or environment, but instead it is like a theatrical set – an unreal backdrop for unreal events. It is typical of the artist’s work of the 1910s in its use of multiple vanishing points, deep colors, and elongated shadows of dusk. The clock tower and departing train possibly foreshadow his imminent departure to join the Italian army in the First World War. Trains are a familiar motif in de Chirico’s work, functioning as a symbol of life and youthful expectation.
Led by André Breton, himself inspired by the writings of Sigmund Freud, Surrealism sought to give greater license to the irrational forces of the unconscious and to represent this artistically through what Breton described as the poetic “juxtaposition of two realities.” 4 In paintings like The Song of Love, with its incongruous combination of familiar objects, the Surrealists saw an important precedent; indeed, Breton later called de Chirico a “sentry.” 5 But even as the Surrealists collected and exhibited de Chirico’s paintings from the 1910s, the artist himself had left that work behind, calling for a return to skilled drawing in an apparent about-face that provoked their scorn.
Giorgio de Chirico, [Manoscritti Eluard], in Giorgio de Chirico Scritti/I, ed. Andrea Cortellessa (Milan: Bompiani, 2008), 612. Translation by the author.
De Chirico was born in Volos, Greece, to a Genoan mother and a Sicilian father. After studying art at Athens Polytechnic—mainly under the guidance of the influential Greek painters Georgios Roilos and Georgios Jakobides—and Florence, he moved to Germany in 1906, following his father’s death in 1905. He entered the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, where he studied under Max Klinger and read the writings of the philosophers Nietzsche, Arthur Schopenhauer and Otto Weininger. There, he also studied the works of Arnold Böcklin.
He returned to Italy in the summer of 1909 and spent six months in Milan. At the beginning of 1910, he moved to Florence where he painted the first of his ‘Metaphysical Town Square’ series, The Enigma of an Autumn Afternoon, after the revelation he felt in Piazza Santa Croce. He also painted The Enigma of the Oracle while in Florence. In July 1911 he spent a few days in Turin on his way to Paris. De Chirico was profoundly moved by what he called the ‘metaphysical aspect’ of Turin, especially the architecture of its archways and piazzas. De Chirico moved to Paris in July 1911, where he joined his brother Andrea. Through his brother he met Pierre Laprade, a member of the jury at the Salon d’Automne, where he exhibited three of his works: Enigma of the Oracle, Enigma of an Afternoon and Self-Portrait. During 1913 he exhibited paintings at the Salon des Indépendants and Salon d’Automne; his work was noticed by Pablo Picasso and Guillaume Apollinaire, and he sold his first painting, The Red Tower. In 1914, through Apollinaire, he met the art dealer Paul Guillaume, with whom he signed a contract for his artistic output.
The founder of the scuola metafisica, Giorgio de Chirico is best known for his metaphysical paintings, produced between 1909 and 1919. These melancholic renderings of low-lit town squares with long shadows and empty walkways would profoundly influence the Surrealists, including André Breton, Salvador Dalí, and René Magritte. In their thematic exploration of alienation, nostalgia, and myth, de Chirico’s works—many of which were exhibited at the Paris Salons—are also said to have influenced filmmakers such as Michelangelo Antonioni and draw parallels with contemporary works by Edward Hopper. De Chirico later rejected his earlier metaphysical style and became interested in traditional painting techniques, working in Neoclassical or neo-Baroque styles influenced by Raphael, Luca Signorelli, and Peter Paul Rubens. The Surrealists were publicly critical of this anti-modern development in de Chirico’s work and the artist eventually ended his association with the group. He cited the writings of Friedrich Nietzsche as a deep influence.
The founder of the scuola metafisica, Giorgio de Chirico is best known for his metaphysical paintings, produced between 1909 and 1919. These melancholic renderings of low-lit town squares with long shadows and empty walkways would profoundly influence the Surrealists, including André Breton, Salvador Dalí, and René Magritte. In their thematic exploration of alienation, nostalgia, and myth, de Chirico’s works—many of which were exhibited at the Paris Salons—are also said to have influenced filmmakers such as Michelangelo Antonioni and draw parallels with contemporary works by Edward Hopper. De Chirico later rejected his earlier metaphysical style and became interested in traditional painting techniques, working in Neoclassical or neo-Baroque styles influenced by Raphael, Luca Signorelli, and Peter Paul Rubens. The Surrealists were publicly critical of this anti-modern development in de Chirico’s work and the artist eventually ended his association with the group. He cited the writings of Friedrich Nietzsche as a deep influence.
References:
http://m.theartstory.org/artist/de-chirico-giorgio/artworks/
http://www.moma.org/artists/1106
http://www.wikiart.org/en/giorgio-de-chirico
http://www.artsy.net/artist/giorgio-de-chirico
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giorgio_de_Chirico