Born to Italian parents in Volos, Greece, Giorgio de Chirico (Volos, 1888 – Rome, 1978) began taking drawing lessons in his early teens. In 1905, after the death of his father, his mother decided to move to Italy with her two sons, Giorgio and Andrea, the latter better known by his pseudonym, Alberto Savinio. After brief stays in Venice and Milan, the family left Italy and settled in Munich, where de Chirico enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts.
In the early years of the 20th century, de Chirico produced works influenced by Arnold Böcklin. This phase came to an end in 1910, following his move to Florence and, above all, his discovery of a mysterious emotional state inspired by reading Friedrich Nietzsche. This new direction aimed to depict “those beautiful autumn afternoons in Italian cities.”
It was from this point forward that de Chirico’s first metaphysical painting took shape: L’énigme d’un après-midi d’automne(1910), inspired by a vision he experienced in Florence’s Piazza Santa Croce. The painting was preceded by L’énigme de l’oracle and followed by L’énigme de l’heure and the Portrait de l’artiste par lui-même.
In 1911, the artist moved to Paris. He exhibited at the 1912 Salon d’Automne and the 1913 Salon des Indépendants, where his work caught the attention of Pablo Picasso and Guillaume Apollinaire—for whom he painted the Portrait de Guillaume Apollinaire (1914). Alongside his brother, Savinio, de Chirico socialized with prominent figures such as Ardengo Soffici, Constantin Brancusi, Max Jacob, and André Derain.
The following year, the two brothers were called back to Italy for military service and were stationed in Ferrara. These were the years of de Chirico’s major metaphysical interiors, with works such as Il grande metafisico (1917), Ettore e Andromaca (1917), Il trovatore (1917), and Le muse inquietanti (1918). In 1916, he formed a connection with Filippo de Pisis, and in 1917 met Carlo Carrà, who was then being treated for nervous disorders at the Villa del Seminario military hospital.
During this period, de Chirico also engaged with the Dada movement, interacting with figures such as Tristan Tzara and contributing to the magazine Dada 2. He wrote the article Zeusi l’esploratore for the inaugural issue of Valori Plastici. In 1919, he decided to settle in Rome, where he held his first solo exhibition at Casa d’Arte Bragaglia and published Noi metafisici in Cronache d’attualità. He immersed himself in the study and emulation of Renaissance masters, frequently visiting museums in Rome and Florence.
The 1920s began with his first solo exhibition at Galleria Arte in Milan and marked the start of a correspondence with André Breton. He continued to exhibit widely, including another solo show at Galerie Paul Guillaume in Paris and participation in the 14th Venice Biennale. In 1924, he returned to Paris, where he settled in 1925 after being commissioned to design the sets and costumes for Pirandello’s La Giara at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées.
During his Paris years, de Chirico explored themes linked to the “Metaphysics of Light” and Mediterranean mythology. This gave rise to recurring motifs such as Archaeologists, Horses by the Sea, Trophies, Landscapes in the Room, Furniture in the Valley, and Gladiators. However, during a solo exhibition at Galerie Léonce Rosenberg, his recent works were harshly criticized by the Surrealists, sparking a deep and lasting rift. Nonetheless, his exhibitions continued across Italy and abroad, in cities including Paris, Berlin, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Brussels, London, and New York.
The 1930s were similarly rich in exhibitions, including the 18th Venice Biennale, the 5th Milan Triennale, and the 2nd Rome Quadriennale. In 1936, he traveled to New York, exhibiting at the Julien Levy Gallery. Two years later, he returned to Italy, where he began working with terracotta during the war years, creating sculptures such as Gli Archeologi, Ettore e Andromaca, Ippolito e il suo cavallo, and Pietà. By 1944, de Chirico had established his permanent residence in Piazza di Spagna, Rome.
In 1948, he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of British Artists, where he held his first solo exhibition the following year. In 1950, 1952, and 1954, he organized an “Antibiennale” at the headquarters of the Bucintoro Rowing Society in Venice, in direct protest against the official Biennale, which had awarded the Metaphysical Prize to Giorgio Morandi in 1950.
It was during this period that a new phase of artistic exploration—Neometaphysics—began. De Chirico revisited themes central to his painting and graphic work from the 1910s, 1920s, and 1930s, including the Mannequin, the Troubadour, Archaeologists, Gladiators, Mysterious Baths, and the Sun on the Easel.
In 1970, a major retrospective was held at the Palazzo Reale in Milan, celebrating the breadth of his artistic career. In 1973, he created the Fontana dei Bagni Misteriosi for the 15th Milan Triennale, installed in Sempione Park. These achievements came just a few years before the tireless artist passed away in Rome at the age of ninety.
