The Father of Surrealism: Giorgio di Chirico. (1888-1978)

Quick Facts

• Born in Greece to Italian Parents.• De Chirico is best known for the paintings he

produced between 1909 and 1919, his metaphysical period, which are memorable for the haunted, brooding moods evoked by their images. At the start of this period, his subjects were still cityscapes inspired by the bright daylight of Mediterranean cities, but gradually he turned his attention to studies of cluttered storerooms, sometimes inhabited by mannequin-like hybrid figures.

What is Surrealism?

• A 20th-century literary and artistic movement that attempts to express the workings of the subconscious and is characterized by fantastic imagery and incongruous juxtaposition of subject matter.

• CONFUSED? Let’s brake this down…

SUBCONSCIOUS

• Definition of SUBCONSCIOUS• : the mental activities just below the threshold

of consciousness • Examples of • A person's behavior can be influenced by urges

that exist only in the “back of one’s mind”. • One’s dreams are thought to be controlled by

one’s subconscious mind.• First Known Use of the term:• 1886

INCONGROUS

• Definition: not harmonious : incompatible < colors>

• In other words, things or ideas that normally don’t “go” together.

JUXTAPOTION

• the act of positioning close together (or side by side)

CHECKING FOR UNDERSTANDING

• Do you understand all of the critical vocabulary now?

• Let’s revisit the definition of SURREALISM and put it in your OWN WORDS

What is Surrealism?

• A 20th-century literary and artistic movement that attempts to express the workings of the subconscious and is characterized by fantastic imagery and incongruous juxtaposition of subject matter.

• PUT IT IN YOUR OWN WORDS. GO.

“METAPHYSICAL”

• di Chiricho’s work is often referred to as “metaphysical”. What does this mean?

• The branch of philosophy that examines the nature of reality, including the relationship between mind and matter, reality vs. the “dream state”, the existance (or not) of God and our spiritual natures.

• Essential Question: After examining the work of di Chiricho, how do you think he is exploring METAPHYSICAL subject matter in his paintings?

Chirico, The Seer, 1915.

SCUOLA METAFISICA

To be come truly immortala work of art must escape all human limits:logic and common sense will only interfere.

But once these barriers are brokenit will enter the regions of childhood and dream.

. . . . What I hear is valueless; only what I see is living,and when I close my eyes my vision is even more powerful.

The ancient people of Crete painted an enormous eyein the middle of the narrow bands

that circled their vases, on their household utensils,and on the walls of their houses.

One must discover the eye in everything.

Chirico, Melancholy and Mystery of a Street, 1914.

Chirico, The Seer, 1915.