There is something very special about the artwork of Italian artists Giorgio de Chirico and the metaphysical paintings he created between 1909 and 1919. His lonely empty streets, screwed up perspectives, biscuits, and mannequins can be unsettling… but they are also very beautiful!
While sitting at the Piazza Santa Croce in Florence, De Chirico was struck by the realization that whole worlds exist just beyond our mundane physical reality, and even inanimate objects communicate with us and have personality. To help portray this idea and create a sense of mystery, De Chirico would take ordinary objects out of their familiar context and place them in impersonal and detached settings. This gave those objects special significance, which helps create a unique and bizarre dreamlike quality.
“There is much more mystery in the shadow of a man walking on a sunny day, than in all religions of the world.
“To become truly immortal, a work of art must escape all human limits: logic and common sense will only interfere. But once these barriers are broken, it will enter the realms of childhood visions and dreams.”
– Giorgio De Chirico
I’ve always had a very sincere love for the metaphysical art movement which De Chirico founded. As well as Dada and Surrealism, which were heavily influenced and inspired by De Chirico’s work. You could also argue that the ideas behind Pop Art, which tries to find meaning in the ordinary, can be traced back to De Chirico.
moma.org | De Chirico Collection
