Giorgio de Chirico

Art Brokerage: Giorgio De Chirico Greek Artist: b. 1888-1978. Giorgio 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. He won praise for his work almost immediately from writer Guillaume Apollinaire, who helped to introduce his work to the later Surrealists. Other Surrealists who acknowledged De Chirico's influence include Max Ernst, Salvador Dali, and Ren Magritte. De Chirico strongly influenced the Surrealist movement: Yves Tanguy wrote how one day in 1922 he saw one of De Chirico's paintings in an art dealer's window, and was so impressed by it he resolved on the spot to become an artist although he had never even held a brush. Other artists as diverse as Giorgio Morandi, Carlo Carr and Philip Guston were influenced by De Chirico. He remained extremely prolific even as he approached his 90th year. In 1974 he was elected to the French Academie des Beaux-Arts. He died in Rome on November 20, 1978. Listings wanted.