Giorgio de Chirico

Giorgio de Chirico
De Chirico photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1936
Born	Giuseppe Maria Alberto Giorgio de Chirico (1888-07-10)10 July 1888 Volos, Greece
Died	20 November 1978(1978-11-20) (aged 90) Rome, Italy
Resting place	Church of San Francesco a Ripa, Rome 41.885127°N 12.473186°E / 41.885127; 12.473186
Education	Athens School of Fine Arts Academy of Fine Arts
Known for	Painting sculpture drawing costume stage design
Movement	Metaphysical art surrealism
Spouses	Raissa Gourevitch ​ ​ (m. 1930⁠–⁠1931)​ Isabella Pakszwer Far ​ ​ (m. 1946)​
Signature

The Song of Love, 1914, oil on canvas, 73 × 59.1 cm, Museum of Modern Art, New York

Giuseppe Maria Alberto Giorgio de Chirico (/ˈkɪrɪkoʊ/ KIRR-ik-oh; Italian: [ˈdʒordʒo de ˈkiːriko]; 10 July 1888 – 20 November 1978) was a Greek-Italian artist and writer born in Volos, Greece. In the years before World War I, he founded the scuola metafisica art movement, which profoundly influenced the surrealists. His best-known works often feature Roman arcades, long shadows, mannequins, trains, and illogical perspective. His imagery reflects his affinity for the philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer and of Friedrich Nietzsche, and for the mythology of his birthplace.

After 1919, de Chirico became a critic of modern art, studied traditional painting techniques, and later worked in a neoclassical or neo-Baroque style, while frequently revisiting the metaphysical themes of his earlier work.