Giorgio De Chirico

Giorgio de Chirico (Volos, July 10, 1888 – Rome, November 20, 1978) was an Italian painter, sculptor, and writer, and the principal exponent of the metaphysical art movement. Born to Italian parents in Greece, de Chirico developed a profound passion for art and classical culture from an early age. In 1903 he enrolled at the Athens Polytechnic to pursue the study of painting, and in 1906, together with his brother and mother, he left Greece for Italy, visiting Milan and settling in Florence, where he attended the Academy of Fine Arts. He subsequently studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich from 1906 to 1908, where he came into contact with German art and developed an eclectic and refined artistic culture.

In 1910, in Florence, de Chirico created his first metaphysical painting, L'énigme d'un après-midi d'automne, inspired by a vision he had in Piazza Santa Croce. This masterpiece marked the beginning of a new artistic research that would make him the father of metaphysical painting, a movement that emerged as a reaction against Cubist and Futurist avant-gardes. In 1911 he moved to Paris, where he participated in the Salon d'Automne in 1912 and the Salon des Indépendants in 1913. During this Parisian period he met fundamental figures of modern art such as Guillaume Apollinaire, Paul Guillaume, Constantin Brancusi, Max Jacob, and André Derain. In 1915, during World War I, de Chirico returned to Italy and settled in Ferrara, where he painted masterpieces such as The Disquieting Muses, Hector and Andromache, and Il Trovatore, as well as a series of metaphysical interiors and mannequins that further refined his innovative artistic language.

In 1919 de Chirico moved to Rome, where he met and married Antonia Bolognesi, and held his first solo exhibition at the Casa d'Arte Bragaglia. Between 1925 and 1935 he lived between Paris, Milan, and Florence, continuing to develop his artistic research with series of Roman Villas, The Prodigal Son, Argonauts, and still lifes. In 1936 he departed for New York, where he remained for two years, exhibiting his works and collaborating with fashion magazines. He subsequently returned to Paris, where he settled, disgusted by the racial laws of fascism. During the war years he spent time between Milan, Florence, and Rome, also dedicating himself to theater and the creation of terracotta sculptures.

In 1941 he held his first exhibition of sculptures at the Barbaroux gallery in Milan. De Chirico continued to work until the last years of his life, illustrating the Apocalypse and creating new color lithographs. In 1976 he received the Cross of Grand Officer of the Federal Republic of Germany, with exhibitions in Brussels, London, and New York. Nicknamed Pictor optimus for his crystalline technique and profound classical culture, Giorgio de Chirico was an artist who traversed the entire twentieth century, leaving behind an artistic legacy of extraordinary importance. The last years of his life were troubled by legal disputes initiated by the artist himself to stem the phenomenon of forgeries, but his critical rehabilitation proved complete. De Chirico died in Rome on November 20, 1978, leaving behind a vast and complex body of work that continues to influence contemporary art.