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Giorgio de Chirico

1888–1978

The Uncertainty of the Poet 1913
© DACS, 2025
In Tate Britain

Historic and Modern British Art

In

In the Studio

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Biography

Giuseppe Maria Alberto Giorgio de Chirico ( KIRR-ik-oh; Italian: ˈǰ de ˈ쾱ːDZ; 10 July 1888 – 20 November 1978) was an Italian artist and writer born in 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, he 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. In 2018 it was suggested that de Chirico may have suffered from Alice in Wonderland syndrome.

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Magic realism Scuola romana Pittura metafisica (metaphysical art) 1 more art term …

Artworks

  • The Painter’s Family

    Giorgio de Chirico
    1926
  • The Melancholy of Departure

    Giorgio de Chirico
    1916
    On display at Tate Britain part of Historic and Modern British Art
  • The Uncertainty of the Poet

    Giorgio de Chirico
    1913
    On display at part of In the Studio

Related art terms

Magic realism Scuola Romana Pittura metafisica (metaphysical art) Surrealism
Artwork
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