Giorgio De Chirico

Giorgio de Chirico was a visionary master of the metaphysical painting who had a lasting impact on the art world with his enigmatic moods and classical motifs. His paintings combine sober architecture, lucid shadows and unexpected symbolism to create mysterious scenes that challenge the viewer's gaze. De Chirico was an Italian painter, sculptor and graphic artist and one of the leading representatives of Pittura metafisica. After graduating as an engineer from the Polytechnic University of Athens and studying art under Georgios Jakobides, he attended the Königliche Akademie der Künste in Munich from 1906 to 1909, where he was taught by Franz von Stuck. In 1911, he moved to Paris, where he worked closely with his contemporaries Pablo Picasso, André Derain and Constantin Brâncuși. In 1916/17, he founded the Scuola Metafisica with his brother Alberto Savinio and the Italian Futurist Carlo Carrà, a movement that anticipated Surrealism and existed until around 1920. In 1924, he moved back to Paris, where the Surrealists welcomed him enthusiastically and had a significant influence on his painting. From around 1930, he turned to a distinctly baroque, dramatic and classicist style of painting and sharply criticised modern painting. Typical of his work are individual figurative shadows and mannequin limbs as counterparts to the strictly architectural backdrop, which often appears like a silent, inwardly lurking stage. His works were exhibited at documenta I (1955), II (1959) and III (1964) in Kassel. His works can be found in renowned collections around the world, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Tate Gallery in London, the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich, the Vatican Museums in Rome and the Lehmbruck Museum in Duisburg.