Piazza d'Italia
(1953)
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
50.0 × 40.2 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased with funds donated by John and Cecily Adams and Dr Peter Chu and Robert Morrow, 2022
© Giorgio de Chirico Estate/SIAE, Rome. Licensed by Copyright Agency, Australia
Gallery location
Late 19th & early 20th Century Paintings & Decorative Arts Gallery
Level 2, NGV International
About this work
This painting, dated 1953, reprises theprominent Italian modernist artist Giorgio de Chirico’s metaphysical period from the 1910s. Here, two silhouetted figures stand at the edge of an open space bordered by arched buildings, painted in flat expanses of colour. In the foreground is a rendering of the Classical sculpture Sleeping Ariadne, a motif often used by de Chirico. It is also a composition that he returned to time and again throughout his career as he continued to explore a world that only exists in dreams. De Chirico’s influence on modern art was far-reaching. He had a profound influence on the Surrealism movement through to Pop Art, with Andy Warhol being deeply affected by the Italian artist’s constant repetition and revision of particular motifs.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
Rome, Italy
Inscription
inscribed in black paint l.c.: G de Chirico
inscribed (diagonally) in pen and ink on reverse u.c.: Questa opera è stata da me / eseguita / G. de Chirico
Accession Number
2022.854
Department
International Painting