What shall I love if not the enigma?

What shall I love if not the enigma?

In 1969 a young artist in Turin named Giulio Paolini took as his personal motto the Latin inscription—itself a quotation from Nietzsche—at the foot of an early Giorgio de Chirico self-portrait: Et quid amabo nisi quod ænigma est [And What Shall I Love If Not the Enigma].

How did De Chirico influence Surrealism?

De Chirico’s work from this era was termed “Metaphysical Painting” by the French poet and critic Guillaume Apollinaire, and it would become fundamental to the development of Surrealism for the way his enigmatic scenes seemed less concerned with presenting any kind of reality than they were with offering up dreamlike …

What Swiss was known for combining Surrealism with expressionism?

The Swiss-born painter, graphic artist and printmaker Paul Klee was involved in several of the major modern art movements including Expressionism and Surrealism, and is noted for his colourful and varied fantasy-style of art depicting a world of semi-abstract, dreamlike images.

Was Giorgio de Chirico a surrealist?

Though technically not a surrealist, Giorgio de Chirico had such an influence upon that emerging art style, that any consideration of surrealism that ignores the contribution of de Chirico must be deeply flawed. De Chirico was an Italian (though born in Volos in Greece).

Who created the Paris Surrealist movement?

In the early 1920s, the Surrealist writer André Breton discovered one of de Chirico’s metaphysical paintings on display in Guillaume’s Paris gallery, and was enthralled. Numerous young artists who were similarly affected by de Chirico’s imagery became the core of the Paris Surrealist group centered around Breton.

Why is Giorgio de Chirico important?

Giorgio de Chirico was an important source of inspiration for artists throughout Europe in the inter-war years, particularly the surrealists. His career was marked by stylistic changes and reversals.

What are the characteristics of Chirico’s paintings?

The paintings de Chirico produced between 1909 and 1919, his metaphysical period, are characterized by haunted, brooding moods evoked by their images.

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