Giorgio de Chirico facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Giorgio de Chirico
De Chirico photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1936
Born	Giuseppe Maria Alberto Giorgio de Chirico (1888-07-10)10 July 1888 Volos, Greece
Died	20 November 1978(1978-11-20) (aged 90) Rome, Italy
Resting place	Church of San Francesco a Ripa, Rome
Education	Athens School of Fine Arts Academy of Fine Arts
Known for	Painting sculpture drawing costume stage design
Movement	Metaphysical art surrealism
Spouse(s)	Raissa Gourevitch ​ (m. 1930⁠–⁠1931)​ Isabella Pakszwer Far ​ (m. 1946)​
Signature

The Song of Love, 1914, oil on canvas, 73 × 59.1 cm, Museum of Modern Art, New York

Giuseppe Maria Alberto Giorgio de Chirico (born July 10, 1888 – died November 20, 1978) was a famous Italian artist and writer. He was born in Greece. Before World War I, he started an art movement called Metaphysical art. This style greatly influenced later artists, especially the Surrealists. His most famous paintings often show Roman arches, long shadows, mannequins (like store display figures), trains, and strange perspectives. These images show his interest in philosophy and the myths of his Greek homeland.

After 1919, de Chirico changed his style. He became a critic of modern art and studied older painting techniques. He then painted in a more traditional, classical or Baroque style. However, he often returned to the mysterious themes from his earlier metaphysical period.

Early Life and Artistic Beginnings

Giuseppe Maria Alberto Giorgio de Chirico was born in Volos, Greece. His father, Evaristo de Chirico, was an engineer who built railroads, including the Pelion railway. His mother was Gemma Cervetto. Giorgio had a younger brother, Andrea, who later became a famous writer, painter, and composer using the name Alberto Savinio.

From 1900, Giorgio studied drawing and painting at the Athens Polytechnic in Greece. After his father passed away in 1905, his family moved to Germany in 1906, after visiting Florence. In Germany, Giorgio studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. There, he read the ideas of philosophers like Friedrich Nietzsche and Arthur Schopenhauer. He also studied the works of artists such as Arnold Böcklin. His early paintings, like The Dying Centaur (1909), show Böcklin's influence.

Exploring Metaphysical Art

Le mauvais génie d'un roi (The Evil Genius of a King), 1914–15, oil on canvas, 61 × 50.2 cm, Museum of Modern Art

The Seer, 1914–15, oil on canvas, 89.6 × 70.1 cm, Museum of Modern Art

Great Metaphysical Interior, 1917, oil on canvas, 95.9 × 70.5 cm, Museum of Modern Art

Self-portrait (Autoritratto), 1920, oil on wood, 50.2 x 39.5 cm, Pinakothek der Moderne

De Chirico returned to Italy in 1909. By 1910, he began painting in a simpler style with smooth, plain surfaces. He moved to Florence and started his 'Metaphysical Town Square' series. One of his first paintings in this style was The Enigma of an Autumn Afternoon. He felt a special inspiration in Piazza Santa Croce.

In July 1911, he visited Turin on his way to Paris. De Chirico was deeply moved by what he called the "metaphysical aspect" of Turin. He especially liked its archways and town squares. The paintings he created between 1909 and 1919 are known as his metaphysical period. They are full of mysterious and thoughtful moods. At first, he painted quiet city scenes with bright Mediterranean daylight. Later, he focused on cluttered rooms, sometimes with mannequin-like figures.

De Chirico's idea of Metaphysical art was inspired by Nietzsche's writings. Nietzsche's style made de Chirico think about hidden meanings beneath everyday appearances. De Chirico found inspiration in the strange feelings that familiar places or objects sometimes gave him. He wrote in 1909 about "strange, unknown and solitary things that can be translated into painting."

Metaphysical art mixed everyday reality with myths. It created feelings of longing, tense waiting, and strangeness. The paintings often had illogical and confusing perspectives. A common image in his work was arcades. He wrote that "The Roman arcade is fate... its voice speaks in riddles."

De Chirico moved to Paris in July 1911. There, he met artists like Pablo Picasso and Guillaume Apollinaire. He exhibited his work and sold his first painting, The Red Tower. During his time in Paris, he also created his famous painting Ariadne. When World War I began, de Chirico returned to Italy. He joined the army in May 1915 but was assigned to a hospital in Ferrara. The shop windows in Ferrara inspired a series of paintings with biscuits, maps, and geometric shapes indoors. In Ferrara, he met Carlo Carrà, and together they officially started the pittura metafisica movement.

A Shift to Classical Styles

De Chirico moved to Rome in 1918 and continued to paint. His work was shown widely across Europe. In November 1919, he wrote an article called "The Return of Craftsmanship." In this article, he suggested that artists should go back to traditional painting methods. This marked a big change in his art. He started painting in a more classical style, inspired by old masters like Raphael. He also became a strong critic of modern art.

In the early 1920s, the Surrealist writer André Breton saw one of de Chirico's metaphysical paintings in Paris and was fascinated. Many young artists were inspired by de Chirico's images and formed the core of the Paris Surrealist group. In 1924, de Chirico visited Paris and joined the group. However, the Surrealists did not like his new, post-metaphysical work.

De Chirico married his first wife, ballerina Raissa Gurievich, in 1925, and they moved to Paris. His relationship with the Surrealists became difficult. They publicly criticized his new art, and by 1926, he saw them as "hostile." They soon went their separate ways. In 1928, he had his first exhibitions in New York City and London. He also wrote essays about art and published a novel called Hebdomeros, the Metaphysician in 1929. He also designed stages for Sergei Diaghilev.

Later Works and Lasting Influence

De Chirico in 1970, photographed by Paolo Monti. Fondo Paolo Monti, BEIC

In 1930, de Chirico met his second wife, Isabella Pakszwer Far. They stayed together for the rest of his life. They moved to Italy in 1932 and to the US in 1936, finally settling in Rome in 1944. In 1948, he bought a house near the Spanish Steps. This house is now the Giorgio de Chirico House Museum, dedicated to his art. Around 1939, de Chirico began painting in a neo-Baroque style, inspired by artists like Rubens.

This period, sometimes called the 'Baroque season,' lasted until the late 1960s. During this time, de Chirico found inspiration in artists like Tintoretto and Raphael. He aimed to create images full of myths and visions, going "beyond reality." He also studied the painting techniques of old masters like Titian.

De Chirico's later paintings did not receive as much praise as his earlier metaphysical works. He felt this was unfair, believing his later art was better and more mature. To deal with this, he sometimes created new paintings in his old style and dated them earlier. He also said that many paintings attributed to him were not real. In 1945, he published his memoirs.

De Chirico continued to paint a lot, even as he approached 90 years old. In 1974, he was chosen for the French Académie des Beaux-Arts. He passed away in Rome on November 20, 1978. In 1992, his remains were moved to the Church of San Francesco a Ripa in Rome.

De Chirico's Unique Style

De Chirico's most famous works come from his metaphysical period. In these paintings, he used special images like empty arcades, tall towers, long shadows, mannequins, and trains. He arranged these to create "images of loneliness and emptiness" that also showed a feeling of "power and freedom."

According to art writer Sanford Schwartz, de Chirico's paintings (his father was a railroad engineer) make you feel like you're seeing buildings and views from a train window. His towers, walls, and plazas seem to rush by, giving you a powerful feeling of knowing them deeply.

Art critic Robert Hughes wrote that de Chirico could express strong feelings using symbols and connections. For example, in The Joy of Return (1915), a bright ball of vapor above a train's smokestack could be close or far away, making you wonder about space. De Chirico often asked, "What shall I love if not the enigma?" This question shows the mystery in his early works.

His art is similar to that of American painter Edward Hopper. Both artists used low sunlight, deep shadows, empty walkways, and quiet scenes to create a mysterious visual poetry.

How De Chirico Influenced Others

De Chirico's work was quickly praised by writer Guillaume Apollinaire, who helped introduce it to the Surrealists. De Chirico had a huge impact on the Surrealist movement. For example, Yves Tanguy said that in 1922, he saw one of de Chirico's paintings and was so amazed that he decided to become an artist right then, even though he had never painted before! Other Surrealists like Max Ernst, Salvador Dalí, and René Magritte also said de Chirico influenced them. Magritte called seeing de Chirico's The Song of Love "one of the most moving moments of my life."

Many filmmakers were also influenced by de Chirico's style, especially from the 1950s to the 1970s. The Italian film director Michelangelo Antonioni said de Chirico influenced him. You can see this in Antonioni's films, where the camera often stays on empty cityscapes with few people. The French animated film Le Roi et l'oiseau and the Italian film The Desert of the Tartars also show his visual influence.

Other artists, including Giorgio Morandi and Andy Warhol, were also inspired by de Chirico. Even album covers, video games, and music videos have shown his influence. For example, the cover art for Thelonious Monk's album Misterioso used de Chirico's painting The Seer. The Japanese video game Ico and the music video for David Bowie's song "Loving the Alien" also drew inspiration from his art.

In 2018, researchers suggested that de Chirico might have experienced Alice in Wonderland syndrome (AIWS). This is a neurological condition that affects how a person sees things, making objects or parts of their body appear to be unreal sizes, much like Alice's experiences in Lewis Carroll's famous novel.

Honors and Awards

• 1958: Member of the Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium.
• Member of the Académie de France.

Selected Works

The Red Tower (1913), Peggy Guggenheim Collection

• Flight of the Centauri, Enigma of an Autumn Afternoon and Enigma of the Oracle (1909)
• Ritratto di Andrea de Chirico (Alias Alberto Savinio) (1909–1910)
• The Enigma of the Hour (1911)
• The Nostalgia of the Infinite (1911), or 1912–1913
• Melanconia, The Enigma of the Arrival and La Matinée Angoissante (1912)
• The Soothsayers Recompense, The Red Tower, Ariadne, The Awakening of Ariadne, The Uncertainty of the Poet, La Statua Silenziosa, The Anxious Journey, Melancholy of a Beautiful Day, Le Rêve Transformé, and Self-Portrait (1913)
• The Anguish of Departure (begun in 1913), Portrait of Guillaume Apollinaire, The Nostalgia of the Poet, L'Énigme de la fatalité, Gare Montparnasse (The Melancholy of Departure), The Song of Love, The Enigma of a Day, The Philosopher's Conquest, The Child's Brain, The Philosopher and the Poet, Still Life: Turin in Spring, Piazza d'Italia (Autumn Melancholy), and Melancholy and Mystery of a Street (1914)
• The Evil Genius of a King (begun in 1914), The Seer (or The Prophet), Piazza d'Italia, The Double Dream of Spring, The Purity of a Dream, Two Sisters (The Jewish Angel) and The Duo (1915)
• Andromache, The Melancholy of Departure, The Disquieting Muses, Metaphysical Interior with Biscuits (1916)
• Metaphysical Interior with Large Factory and The Faithful Servitor (both began in 1916), The Great Metaphysician, Ettore e Andromaca, Metaphysical Interior, Geometric Composition with Landscape and Factory and Great Metaphysical Interior (1917)

Il grande metafisico (The Grand Metaphysician), 1917, oil on canvas, 104.8 x 69.5 cm

• Il grande metafisico (The Grand Metaphysician) (1917)
• Metaphysical Muses and Hermetic Melancholy (1918)
• Still Life with Salami and The Sacred Fish (1919)
• Self-portrait (1920)

The Disquieting Muses (1947), replica of the 1916 painting, University of Iowa Museum of Art

• Italian Piazza, Maschere and Departure of the Argonauts (1921)
• The Great Tower (1921)
• The Prodigal Son (1922)
• Florentine Still Life (c. 1923)
• The House with the Green Shutters (1924)
• The Great Machine (1925) Honolulu Museum of Art
• Au Bord de la Mer, Le Grand Automate, The Terrible Games, Mannequins on the Seashore and The Painter (1925)
• La Commedia e la Tragedia (Commedia Romana), The Painter's Family and Cupboards in a Valley (1926)
• L'Esprit de Domination, The Eventuality of Destiny (Monumental Figures), Mobili nella valle and The Archaeologists (1927)
• Temple et Forêt dans la Chambre (1928)
• Gladiatori (began in 1927), The Archaeologists IV (from the series Metamorphosis), The return of the Prodigal son I (from the series Metamorphosis) and Bagnante (Ritratto di Raissa) (1929)
• I fuochi sacri (for the Calligrammes) 1929
• Illustrations from the book Calligrammes by Guillaume Apollinaire (1930)
• I Gladiatori (Combattimento) (1931)
• Milan Cathedral, 1932
• Cavalos a Beira-Mar (1932–1933)
• Cavalli in Riva al Mare (1934)
• La Vasca di Bagni Misteriosi (1936)
• The Vexations of The Thinker (1937)
• Self-portrait (1935–1937)
• Archeologi (1940)
• Illustrations from the book L'Apocalisse (1941)
• Portrait of Clarice Lispector (1945)
• Villa Medici – Temple and Statue (1945)
• Minerva (1947)
• Metaphysical Interior with Workshop (1948)
• Venecia, Puente de Rialto
• Fiat (1950)
• Piazza d'Italia (1952)
• The Fall – Via Crucis (1947–54)
• Venezia, Isola di San Giorgio (1955)
• Salambò su un cavallo impennato (1956)
• Metaphysical Interior with Biscuits (1958)
• Piazza d'Italia (1962)
• Cornipedes, (1963)
• La mia mano sinistra, (1963), Chianciano Museum of Art
• Manichino (1964)
• Ettore e Andromaca (1966)
• The Return of Ulysses, Interno Metafisico con Nudo Anatomico and Mysterious Baths – Flight Toward the Sea (1968)
• Il rimorso di Oreste, La Biga Invincibile and Solitudine della Gente di Circo (1969)
• Orfeo Trovatore Stanco, Intero Metafisico and Muse with Broken Column (1970)
• Metaphysical Interior with Setting Sun (1971)
• Sole sul cavalletto (1973)
• Mobili e rocce in una stanza, La Mattina ai Bagni misteriosi, Piazza d'Italia con Statua Equestre, La mattina ai bagni misteriosi and Ettore e Andromaca (1973)
• Pianto d'amore – Ettore e Andromaca and The Sailors' Barracks (1974)

Writings

• Hebdomeros (1929)
• The Memoirs of Giorgio De Chirico, trans. Margaret Crosland (Da Capo Press 1994)
• Geometry of Shadows (poems), trans. Stefania Heim (Public Space Books 2019)

Films About De Chirico

• Aenigma Est (1990) – Director: Dimitri Mavrikios; Screenplay: Thomas Moschopoulos, Dimitri Mavrikios
• Giorgio de Chirico: Argonaut of the Soul (2010) – documentary film: Directors and screenplay: Kostas Anestis and George Lagdaris