Piazza d’Italia
Daily Appreciation
Piazza d’Italia forms part of one of Giorgio de Chirico’s most iconic series of Metaphysical paintings, in which a curious collection of symbols and objects are juxtaposed within the setting of a quiet Italian square. Within the present composition, two male figures are seen towards the background, but with their bodies oddly scaled-down in comparison to the architecture and to the large statue. The centre of the square is occupied by the statue of a man, seen from the back and casting a long, dramatic shadow.
“Giorgio de Chirico expresses as no one else has done the poignant melancholy of the close of a beautiful day in an old Italian city where, at the back of a lonely piazza, beyond the setting of loggias, porticos, and monuments to the past, a train chugs […] or a soaring factory chimney sends smoke into the cloudless sky”.
De Chirico first explored the motif of the Piazza around 1913 and 1914 and the artist continued to return to this fundamental theme throughout his career, finding constant inspiration.
Dating from the 1950s, the present work incorporates motifs such as the majestic tower dominating the square, the two figures greeting each other, and, omnipresent, the marble statue which serves as the focal point of the composition.
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