Giorgio De Chirico Italian, 1888-1978

Giorgio de Chirico was an Italian painter, writer, and sculptor best known as the founder of the Metaphysical Artmovement, which profoundly influenced Surrealism and modern art.

He was born on July 10, 1888, in Volos, Greece, to Italian parents. His father, a railway engineer, fostered in him an early interest in architecture and classical antiquity. De Chirico studied art in Athens and Florence before moving to Germany in 1906, where he attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. There, he discovered the works of philosophers such as Nietzsche and Schopenhauer, whose ideas of mystery, destiny, and metaphysics deeply shaped his artistic vision.

In 1911, de Chirico settled in Paris, where he developed his distinctive style of Metaphysical painting. His works from this period feature deserted city squares, long shadows, enigmatic statues, mannequins, and distorted perspectives, creating a dreamlike atmosphere filled with a sense of foreboding and enigma. Notable paintings from this phase include The Enigma of an Autumn Afternoon (1910), The Mystery and Melancholy of a Street (1914), and The Song of Love(1914).

His art attracted the attention of prominent figures such as Guillaume Apollinaire and later influenced the Surrealists, including Salvador Dalí, René Magritte, and Max Ernst. However, in the 1920s de Chirico distanced himself from avant-garde circles and turned to a more traditional, neoclassical style, often inspired by the Old Masters. This shift was controversial, as many critics considered it a break from his groundbreaking early work.

Yet, even after this neoclassical phase, de Chirico returned to metaphysical themes in what he called his Neo-Metaphysical period (from the late 1960s onward). In these works, he revisited the enigmatic plazas, mannequins, and mysterious objects of his youth, blending them with new elements in a highly personal reinterpretation of his earlier style.

Despite mixed reception during his lifetime, de Chirico remained prolific, producing paintings, sculptures, stage designs, and literary works, including his 1929 novel Hebdomeros. He spent much of his later life in Italy, particularly in Rome, where he became a well-known cultural figure.

Giorgio de Chirico died on November 20, 1978, in Rome, at the age of 90. Today, he is celebrated as a pioneering artist whose Metaphysical and Neo-Metaphysical paintings continue to captivate viewers with their haunting atmosphere and philosophical depth.