Giorgio de Chirico: The Great Metaphysician
The very international Giorgio de Chirico (1888-1978) was born in Greece and raised in Germany, found his artistic voice in Paris, married two Russians and died in Rome. Think of him, and you probably think of the classic paintings from 1911-19, those in which he achieved a transformation of the ordinary by framing it in the unexpected ways which would come to be called ‘metaphysical’. That’s to ignore quite a lot: the weird pastiches of the classics to which he turned after the war; the late 20’s pictures of gladiators heaped up and deflated; and the late repetitions and versions of his own early work, diversely judged as stale, fraudulent (can an artist fake his own work?), provocative, or post-modern avant la lettre. The added spice is that de Chirico spent his last 50 years proclaiming that modern art was worthless and this new style was to be preferred: John Currin, perhaps, but without the irony… All of which is fairly well-trodden ground. Yet a new exhibition in the very pleasant environs of the Estorick Collection features not just late paintings, such as these affecting horses, but also a large sample of De Chirico’s rarely-shown sculpture. Most of it looks like variously-patinated figures from his classic paintings, and at a similar scale. By contrast, The Great Metaphysician towers over the gallery, achieving an impact beyond its fairly similar painted equivalent from 1917. Like most late de Chirico, I reckon, the sculpture has its merits as well as its failings.
Giorgio de Chirico: Horses by the Sea, 1963
Most days art Critic Paul Carey-Kent spends hours on the train, traveling between his home in Southampton and his day job in Surrey. Could he, we asked, jot down whatever came into his head?
