Giorgio de Chirico

Giorgio De Chirico , born on July 10th, 1888 with Volos in Thessalie, Greece, and deceased on November 20th, 1978 with Rome, Italy, is a painter greco-Italian.

Biography

His/her father, engineer of the railroads in Thessalie, is an art lover which makes him discover the ancient Greece. At the 12 years age, De Chirico is registered at the polytechnic Institute of Athens where it follows courses of drawings and painting. After the death of his/her sister then of its father, in 1905, it follows his/her mother and her younger brother Andrea (Alberto Savinio) who leave to settle in Italy then with Munich. He then attends the courses of the Academy of the fine arts and discovers works of Friedrich Nietzsche and Arthur Schopenhauer and the tables of Arnold Böcklin.

Of return in Italy, in 1910, it begins a series of tables the word enigma often returns in the titles: “ Enigma one evening of autumn ” (1910), “ Enigma of oracle ” (1910), “ the Enigma of the hour ” (1912). Until 1917, De Chirico will not cease painting paintings with apparent simplicity but with strong premonitory suggestion, exploiting chromatisms without nuances and of the sometimes aberrant prospects: low and remote horizons, monumental architectural elements cotoyant in the foreground of the most incongruous objects (glove, mannequins of dressmaker, print of fish or shell,), turning into a desert (" désertion" ?) spaces in spite of the carved heads, busts or statues in foot. (" De Chirico created a universe where the objects start to make signs " Rene Passeron).

“ the Concern of the poet ” (sometimes entitled “ Uncertainty… ”) account among the works most representative of the period " métaphysique" : the fortuitous meeting of a body of woman, a mode of bananas and arcades, symbols erotic, opposed to the train in departure and the representation of the female body via a statue, generates the deep nostalgia of a missed appointment.

By the intermédaire of his/her brother, become painter also and installed to him in Paris, De Chirico exposes its first works to the Salon of autumn of 1912 and 1913. Guillaume Apollinaire notices it and written, for its review " Evenings of Paris" , an eulogistic report where it qualifies the painting of Chirico of " métaphysique". Taking again this expression, De Chirico and Carlo Carrà founds the movement " Pittura metafisica" (1915). Alerted by this article of Apollinaire, artists of avant-garde of this time: cubists, orphists, futuristic, future surrealist Dadaïste and is impressed and admiratifs.

One day of 1922, Yves Tanguy sees platform of a bus, in a window, table “ the Brain of the child ”. It jumps at once of the bus and is impressed so much by it that it then decides to become painter " although I never held a brush! ". Without the knowledge, it reproduced the same reaction that André Breton had six years before. After the First World War, De Chirico " découvre" works of the Titien and joined the futuristic group " Valori Plastici" allured by the Fascism of Mussolini. De Chirico then carries out its series of “ Roman Villes ”, “ Prodigal sons ” and “ Argonautes ” with the great despair of Breton: " Chirico, while continuing to paint, has made for ten years only mésuser of a supernatural capacity… This swindle with the miracle lasted only too much. " (" The surrealist Revolution " , 1926). In 1928, the surrealist ones organizes a Chirico exposure devoted to the only period " métaphysique" , to which they give for title " Ci-to lie Giorgio De Chirico". In a report of this exposure, Raymond Queneau concludes " that it is useless to be delayed behind great painter a beard pushed to him with the face, a dirty old woman beard of renegade. " Fifty years later, De Chirico will answer: " I would have preferred that one deals with me in more intelligent way. But I can nothing make against. " (" The Daily newspaper of Paris" , 1974).

The polemic started by the surrealist does not prevent Chirico from continuing its work in a more academic way but also remunerative, declining ad infinitum its tables in its style " métaphysique" with the manner of a painter " pompier" XIX° century.

Tables (selection)

“ Flight of the centaur ”, 1909
“ the Reward of the soothsayer ”, 1913
“ the Nostalgia of infinite the ”, 1913
“ Concern (or Uncertainty) of the poet ”, 1913
“ the red Tower ”, 1913
“ ARIANE ”, 1913
“ Anguish of the departure ”, 1914
“ the Conquest of the philosopher ”, 1914
“ Melancholy and mystery of a street ”, 1914
“ Song oflove ”, 1914, also called song of love
“ the Brain of the child ”, 1914
“ the Enigma of fate ”, 1914
“ premonitory Portrait of Guillaume Apollinaire ”, 1914 (profile of Apollinaire with a circle traced around its left temple)
“ Vaticinal the ”, 1915
“ the Duet or Mannequins of the pink tower ”, 1915
“ Andromaque ”, 1916
“ Large metaphysics ”, 1917
“ Great metaphysical interior ”, 1917
“ the Mathematicians ”, 1917
“ Distressing It voyage ”

“ Hebdomeros ”, 1925, autobiographical account

Bibliographical source

Adam Biro & Rene Passeron (under the direction of) “ general Dictionary of the Surrealism and its surroundings ”, university Presses of France, 1982

Bonds

http://www.insecula.com/oeuvre/O0026199.html
http://www.moma.org/collection/provenance/items/950.79.html
http://terresdefemmes.blogs.com/mon_weblog/2005/11/20_novembre_197.html

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