Giorgio de Chirico
Giorgio de Chirico (* July 10, 1888 in Volos, Greece, † November 20, 1978 in Rome, other spellings: Giorgio Di Chirico or DeChirico ) was an Italian painter and printmaker. He is regarded as the main representative of Pittura metafisica, the so-called metaphysical painting, which is regarded as one of the most important precursors of Surrealism.
Life and work
De Chirico's parents were Gemma Cervetto and Evaristo Di Chirico. Both were from Italy, but the father was employed as an engineer in Greece in railway construction. His brother Alberto Savinio was a composer. Giorgio de Chirico studied after an academic study engineering at the Polytechnic Institute in Athens parallel painting with Georgios Jakobides ( the painting of the Polytechnic was divided at that time into the new School of Fine Arts Athens). After the death of his father from 1906 to 1909 at the Royal Academy of Arts in Munich. In his time in Munich, he shared a room with his slightly older fellow student from Athens Giorgos Busianis and was friends with the painter Fritz Gartz.
In the Munich collections impressed him especially the romantic and mystical paintings of the symbolist Swiss painter Arnold Böcklin, which should be considered by Surrealists such as Salvador Dalí and Max Ernst as one of their forerunners. Furthermore influenced him Visions of the German painter, sculptor and graphic artist Max Klinger. To this end, he read like almost all artists of the era, Arthur Schopenhauer and Friedrich Nietzsche, who him with his descriptions of ghostly empty seats in Turin, lined with arcades and statues, was the presentation of his work.
De Chirico's dream-like views of the city consist of towers, arcades and deserted Ideal architectures times in Central, added times in multi-perspective spatial constructions. Figurative shadows and " manichini " Only used individually ( puppets ) form counterparts to strict architectural design of this backdrop world. Later, de Chirico did address the dreamlike, unconscious element in his compositions by putting details such as watches, railways ( in which the memory of his father mirrors ) and distorted limbs in surreal relationship.
1911 could be de Chirico moved to Paris. There he presented in an exhibition at the Salon d' Automne and at the Independants his pictures. He came into the French art metropolis together with important artists of his time, such as with Pablo Picasso, with André Derain, Constantin Brancusi and the poet and critic Guillaume Apollinaire.
In 1915 he left Paris and moved to the Italian Ferrara. There he focused on the three motifs cities, " Manichini " ( puppets ) and interiors. Approximately 1915 to 1925 de Chirico painted mainly still lifes. Typical are especially the faceless character dolls and antique statue motives. From 1918 to 1919 was also Giorgio Morandi near the Pittura metafisica and tested in ten plants for their suitability for his goals. De Chirico describes in his autobiography how much he " together with Carlo Carrà, Ardengo Soffici and Giorgio Morandi strives continually been the sense of tradition that in Italy secessionist officially by the pseudo- academic art and the clumsy bungler land simpleton confused and corrupted is to draw back in right paths. "
1916/17 de Chirico founded with his brother Alberto Savinio and the Italian Futurist Carlo Carrà the " scuola metafisica " and thus a flow that anticipated the style of the Surrealists around ten years, and lasted until 1920. The artists joined in their works real and imaginary elements with each other no or only a reference ahnbaren produce. The artistic imagination became part of the screen layout. The associative character of the works brought forth dreamlike scenes, in which there is a magical and metaphysical mood. Together with Carlo Carrà founded in 1920 de Chirico also the magazine Pittura metafisica.
In 1919, a change of style in his painting style was noted. De Chirico began to paint realistic and aligned itself on the academic style. So in 1926, was the work entitled " Two Nudes ". In 1924 he was one of the founders of the magazine La Révolution surréaliste. In 1924, de Chirico moved to Paris again and was enthusiastically received by the Surrealists, whose painting owed his lot.
A turning point in his work marks the year 1930: Rather than continue to be based on recent trends in art, to de Chirico turned entirely on the Pittura metafisica from. Nevertheless, his metaphysical images remained influential for the Surrealists. He turned to a decidedly baroque and pathetic painting, criticized the modern painting sharp and painted henceforth in a classical, academic style. Since he did not deserve with these pictures enough, copied, and he also sold works of his metaphysical period, which is why the dating of "real" Chirico is often not easy. From 1939 until his death lived de Chirico returned to Italy.
Some of his works were shown at the documenta 1 (1955), Documenta II (1959) and the documenta III in Kassel in 1964.
His house in Rome at the Piazza di Spagna is open as a museum since 1999 and shows a retrospective of the artist.
Giorgio de Chirico's grave is located in Rome in the church of San Francesco a Ripa. There, the first side chapel to the left of the entrance door by two breakthroughs in the neighboring property ( = Ministry of Culture) has been extended. De Chirico's grave space is actually on the floor of the Ministry of Culture - but access to it is only on the side of the church possible.