Giorgio de Chirico Italian artist and art theorist Date of Birth: 10.07.1888 Country: Italy

Biography of Giorgio de Chirico

Giorgio de Chirico (1888–1978) was an Italian artist and art theorist, considered one of the precursors of Surrealism in modern painting. He was born on July 10, 1888, in the Greek city of Volos. De Chirico studied at the Higher School of Fine Arts in Athens and in 1906, he enrolled in the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. His interest in Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophy and the allegorical paintings of Max Beckmann contributed to his fascination with interpreting enigmatic symbols, dreams, and hallucinations.

From 1908 to 1911, De Chirico lived primarily in Florence, Italy, and then moved to Paris in 1911, where he became close with Picasso and Apollinaire. However, with the outbreak of World War I, he returned to Italy. Between 1908 and 1917, De Chirico created his most significant works - a series of views of deserted city squares and still lifes composed of unrelated objects. Even the titles of these works, such as "Nostalgia of the Infinite" (1913) and "Melancholy of the Street" (1914), indicate the artist's desire to fill the most ordinary situations with a sense of danger and unreality.

In 1917, De Chirico met the futurist artist Carlo Carrà while in a military hospital in Ferrara. From 1917 to 1919, De Chirico and Carrà formulated the theoretical foundation for their new perspective on visual art, giving rise to the movement of Metaphysical Painting in Italian art. In the 1920s, De Chirico turned to creating romantic variations on classical themes. His early works had a significant influence on the formation of Surrealism and the artistic practices of figures such as Max Ernst, Yves Tanguy, and Salvador Dalí. According to André Breton, the founder and ideologist of Surrealism, only De Chirico's works allowed the Surrealists to express their program through the medium of painting.

In 1945, De Chirico published his autobiography, "Memories of My Life." The artist passed away in Rome on November 20, 1978.