DE CHIRICO Giorgio
Inventor of metaphysical painting, Giorgio De Chirico (1888-1978) paved the way for Surrealism. Discover above the works offered by Galerie 125.
Giorgio de Chirico, the Master of Metaphysical Painting
Italian painter born in Greece, Giorgio de Chirico (1888-1978) is the inventor of metaphysical painting. His deserted squares with endless arcades, oversized shadows, statues, faceless mannequins, and stopped clocks created an atmosphere of enigma and melancholy that profoundly influenced the Surrealists and all 20th-century art.
- 1888: born on July 10 in Volos, Greece.
- 1906-1909: studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich.
- 1911: arrives in Paris, where he paints his first "Piazze d'Italia."
- 1917: founds metaphysical painting in Ferrara with Carlo Carrà.
- 1920-1930: returns to classicism, admired then criticized by the Surrealists.
- 1960s-1970s: "neo-metaphysical" period.
- 1978: dies in Rome, on November 20.
A Greek Childhood
Son of an Italian engineer building railways in Greece, Giorgio de Chirico grew up in Volos and Athens, amidst ancient myths, temples, and trains: these motifs would recur throughout his work. He then studied in Munich, where he discovered the philosophy of Nietzsche and Schopenhauer and the painting of Arnold Böcklin, guiding him towards a mysterious vision of the world.
Paris and the Invention of Metaphysics
Arriving in Paris in 1911, de Chirico painted his famous "Piazze d'Italia": arcades, towers, ancient statues, distant trains, and immense shadows under a green or orange sky. Poet Guillaume Apollinaire supported him, and dealer Paul Guillaume exhibited him. During the war, in Ferrara, he founded "pittura metafisica" with Carlo Carrà: mannequins, interiors cluttered with objects, squares, biscuits, and maps composed scenes of disturbing strangeness. His works from this period, like "Melancholy of an Afternoon" or "The Disquieting Muses," are among the most important of the century.
The Surrealists and the Return to Classicism
André Breton, Max Ernst, Magritte, Dalí, and Tanguy saw him as a precursor of Surrealism. But in the 1920s, de Chirico turned to classical painting, old masters, and mythological subjects, gladiators, horses by the sea, Roman villas. The Surrealists then violently rejected him. He continued his path, painting in the style of the great masters and regularly returning to his metaphysical themes, which he reinterpreted until the end of his life in his "neo-metaphysical" period.
The Engraver and Lithographer
De Chirico extensively practiced lithography and engraving. His illustrations for Apollinaire's "Calligrammes" in 1930, his mythological suites, and his lithographs from the 1960s and 1970s, dedicated to the Piazze d'Italia, mannequins, horses, and mysterious baths, are highly sought after. They allow one to live with the universe of one of the most influential painters of the 20th century.
Choosing a Work by Giorgio de Chirico
- The squares, arcades, and mannequins are the most emblematic subjects of his metaphysical painting.
- Antique horses and "Mysterious Baths" are also highly appreciated by collectors.
- His lithographs, often signed, faithfully capture the atmosphere of his paintings.
- Each work offered by the gallery is precisely described and sold with an invoice-certificate.
Giorgio de Chirico at Galerie 125
Giorgio de Chirico's prints are rare: the gallery offers them above as they arrive, such as the recent lithographed poster of his exhibition at the Marmottan Museum in Paris. Check the page regularly: each piece is described in detail, and shipping is careful, tracked, and insured. Also discover: Salvador Dalí, Paul Delvaux, and Leonor Fini, heirs in their own way to his enigmatic universe.
Do you own a work by Giorgio de Chirico and wish to sell it? Learn how to proceed on our Sell a Work page.