Chirico

Chirico commonly refers to Giorgio de Chirico (1888–1978), Italian painter and sculptor who founded the Metaphysical art movement, a precursor to Surrealism. Born in Volos, Greece, to Italian parents, he studied painting in Athens and subsequently in Munich, where he developed the stylistic ideas that would characterize his later works.

In the 1910s he produced enigmatic cityscapes with long shadows, blank arcades, classical statues, and incongruous juxtapositions. Works such as The Enigma of the Hour (1911) and The Song of Love (1914) became emblematic of metaphysical painting. In 1917 he and Carlo Carrà founded the Scuola Metafisica (Metaphysical School) in Turin, a term later associated with the movement.

After World War I de Chirico's style briefly shifted toward a more classical, decorative vocabulary, though he continued to explore dreamlike imagery throughout his career. His work influenced later Surrealists, including Salvador Dalí and René Magritte, even as his own practice remained distinct. He was the elder brother of Alberto Savinio (Andrea de Chirico).

Giorgio de Chirico died in Rome in 1978. His enduring legacy lies in the eerie, architecturally ordered spaces that challenged conventional perception and helped broaden modern art's scope.