Immediately prior to World War I, the Greco-Italian painter Giorgio de Chirico created enigmatic paintings in which he used a traditional style to describe not the external world, but haunting dreamscapes infused with illogical images, bizarre spatial constructions, and a pervasive melancholic mood. He was greatly inspired by the writings of Friedrich Nietzsche, who believed hidden realities were seen in such strange juxtapositions as the long shadows cast by the setting sun into large open city squares and onto public monuments. De Chirico called his art "metaphysical," and with it hoped to destabilize the meaning of everyday objects by making them symbols of fear, alienation, and uncertainty. His paintings were highly influential for the Surrealists a decade later in their effort to create art from the unconscious. Andromache refers to the beautiful and loyal wife of Hector, the Trojan warrior slain by Achilles in the Iliad. Here Andromache stands, reduced to simple ovoids, alone in a quiet, almost airless Italian piazza, her mood reflected in the dark shadows stretching across the square. The buildings, equally simplified, frame the image, lending it an almost stage-like quality.
The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art
Cornell University, New York
The Onassis Cultural Center presents Giorgio de Chirico and Greece: Voyage through Memory, an exhibition of works by major European artist Giorgio de Chirico, opening on October 31, 2007. Organized by the Giorgio and Isa de Chirico Foundation in Rome and the Athinais Cultural Centre in Athens, this presentation of 35 of the artist’s metaphysical paintings and sculptures, as well as 22 drawings and lithographs are drawn from the artist’s late period of work. Throughout his life de Chirico maintained a personal and academic interest in Hellenic culture. Born in Volos, Greece in 1888 to Italian parents, he went on to study at the Athens Polytechnic and the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. His debut in the art world took place in Paris in 1912. Most commonly known for having inspired Surrealism, de Chirico’s work also adopted Neo-Baroque influences. His bond with ancient Greece harmonized with his appreciation of classical Italian art. The extremely innovate imagery of the 35 paintings and sculptures featured evoke the artist’s memories and reveal his poetic vision, demonstrating the inspiration he found in both cultures as well as his role in defining a different, modern reality. Voyage through Memory presents his artistic reflections on Greek tradition, history, philosophy and aesthetics, fitting the Onassis Cultural Center’s mission to engage and educate the public about the universal ideals of Greek civilization. It is said that de Chirico’s first painting was inspired by the horses he saw in his birthplace of Volos. The focus of horses later developed into a recurring theme for the artist, represented in the exhibition by the painting The Painter of Horses and his Ancient Horses, a bronze sculpture of horses standing in the wind. De Chirico was profoundly influenced by Greek mythology, of which he portrayed the Argonauts, Titans, Centaurs and Olympian Gods. An excerpt from the artist’s memoirs expresses his affinity to this land, “…all of those spectacles of exceptional beauty that I saw in Greece as a boy, and that are the most beautiful I have ever seen to this day, affected me so deeply, they were so powerfully impressed in my soul and in my thoughts…” (...)
De Chirico’s neometaphysical work is another important exhibition theme and is exemplified by paintings such as Harmony of Solitude and The Tower as well as the sculpture The Great Metaphysician, creations which evoke the mystery of space and time in the unique environment he created.
The First Art Newspaper on the Net
Fondazioni Giorgio y Isa de Chirico
The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art
Cornell University, New York
The Onassis Cultural Center presents Giorgio de Chirico and Greece: Voyage through Memory, an exhibition of works by major European artist Giorgio de Chirico, opening on October 31, 2007. Organized by the Giorgio and Isa de Chirico Foundation in Rome and the Athinais Cultural Centre in Athens, this presentation of 35 of the artist’s metaphysical paintings and sculptures, as well as 22 drawings and lithographs are drawn from the artist’s late period of work. Throughout his life de Chirico maintained a personal and academic interest in Hellenic culture. Born in Volos, Greece in 1888 to Italian parents, he went on to study at the Athens Polytechnic and the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. His debut in the art world took place in Paris in 1912. Most commonly known for having inspired Surrealism, de Chirico’s work also adopted Neo-Baroque influences. His bond with ancient Greece harmonized with his appreciation of classical Italian art. The extremely innovate imagery of the 35 paintings and sculptures featured evoke the artist’s memories and reveal his poetic vision, demonstrating the inspiration he found in both cultures as well as his role in defining a different, modern reality. Voyage through Memory presents his artistic reflections on Greek tradition, history, philosophy and aesthetics, fitting the Onassis Cultural Center’s mission to engage and educate the public about the universal ideals of Greek civilization. It is said that de Chirico’s first painting was inspired by the horses he saw in his birthplace of Volos. The focus of horses later developed into a recurring theme for the artist, represented in the exhibition by the painting The Painter of Horses and his Ancient Horses, a bronze sculpture of horses standing in the wind. De Chirico was profoundly influenced by Greek mythology, of which he portrayed the Argonauts, Titans, Centaurs and Olympian Gods. An excerpt from the artist’s memoirs expresses his affinity to this land, “…all of those spectacles of exceptional beauty that I saw in Greece as a boy, and that are the most beautiful I have ever seen to this day, affected me so deeply, they were so powerfully impressed in my soul and in my thoughts…” (...)
De Chirico’s neometaphysical work is another important exhibition theme and is exemplified by paintings such as Harmony of Solitude and The Tower as well as the sculpture The Great Metaphysician, creations which evoke the mystery of space and time in the unique environment he created.
The First Art Newspaper on the Net
Fondazioni Giorgio y Isa de Chirico