Tag Archives: Giorgio de Chirico
Climbing through De Chirico
The Phillips’s elliptical stairway is freshly installed with sculpture and drawing for Myth and Archaeology in the Work of Giorgio De Chirico, on view through June 15 and in celebration of the 2013 Year of Italian Culture in the United States. These early works demonstrate how the artist used figures from mythology, archaeological artifacts, and historical events to create images that suggest an alternate, mysterious reality.

Phillips employees unpack and place the works featured in the exhibition. Photos: Sarah Osborne Bender
Phillips Petting Zoo: Giorgio de Chirico

Giorgio de Chirico, Horses, c.1928. Oil on canvas, 19 3/4 x 25 5/8 in. The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC. Acquired 1929. © 2011 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/SIAE, Rome. Reproduction, including downloading of Giorgio de Chirico works is prohibited by copyright laws and international conventions without the express written permission of Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
I’ve worked at the Phillips for almost six years and until recently, I hadn’t seen this curious painting by Giorgio de Chirico. When I think of de Chirico, images of his desolate cityscapes come to mind; apparently they’ve even been memorialized in a video game. But what about these proud, dreamy horses with their flowing tails and cascading manes? And why are they posing on the beach with classical ruins? Continue reading