Thursday 31 January 2013

A Brief Introduction to Giorgio de Chirico



Giorgio de Chirico is an Italian painter, often thought to be the founder of the Metaphysical art school and Surrealist.
His work has always appealed to me, with it's deceptively simple scenes evoking intense feelings of apprehension.
This is the first work by Giorgio de Chirico that I encountered in the book 30,000 years of art.


This work is entitled Mystery and Melancholy of a Street. The main features of the painting to look at are the little girl playing and the shadowy figure with the spear. The shadow appears to suggest that perhaps all is not well here. To me, it suggests the contrast of contentment and fear, with the metaphor of potential shadows just around the corner.
Following this, I became interested in finding out more about de Chirico, and led him to become one of my favourite contemporary artists.
 
The first painting in this “Metaphysical” style painted by Giorgio de Chirico was “The Enigma of an Autumn Afternoon”. Giorgio de Chirico marks this painting as a turning point in his perceptions of objects around him. He was sitting in a square in Florence and noted how everything around him seemed somewhat alien and surreal. 


This inspired this new style of painting.

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