The Menil: Giorgio de Chirico

January 21st, 2009

The Menil Collection: Open Wed-Sun 11-7, 1515 Sul Ross, Houston

I visited the museum today and have taken notes on some of the paintings there.

Artist: Girogio de Chirico

He was a member of the Pre-Surrealists, and then later, Surrealist movements. He founded the Metaphysical school. His paintings, which I saw in the museum today are; Symbols of War, Melancholia, Hector and Andryomache, and Metaphysical Composition with Toys. I am sure there may be other pieces painted by him in the Menil museum which I may have overlooked.

Symbols of War gives me the impression of a clutter of flags. What looks like the cross of a crucifix appears prominently. One has to imagine the helmets and faces. It is a small painting with an ornate frame. There must be symbolism employed here.

Melancholia has long shadows cast by objects including the arches within the walls of buildings. The arches are simple and the walls they penetrate are the flat walls of a drawing, not the solid walls of a building. Are these real objects? Are they the symbols of objects?

There is a statue in the center of Melancholia which wears the expression of ennui. Its arm expresses surrender. This is a weighty statue with a level of detail lacking in the buildings on either side. The statue is in a courtyard that seems to portray a mood. There is a forlorn flag against the sky in the background. There is steam from a train. The colors of this painting invoke disquiet.

Hector and Andyomache are mannequins. Their faces are the lines and curves of dashes that suggest sewing. So, there is no faces where one would expect them. There are triangles about their torsos. Their feet are the only recognizably human parts of their anatomy. The rest of their bodies look like pieces of wood from a workshop.

Metaphysical Composition with Toys is a depiction of two piles of objects. The piles are towards the bottom of the painting. One pile is colorful, the other rather drab. The two piles are separated by a wall that is tilted very unrealistically and at an imbalanced sort of angle, creating a Topsy-turvy plane. This induces vertigo.

The Symbols of War was painted in 1916. I think it would be Pre-surrealist. The other three paintings definitely look Surrealist. They are disturbing by design. There are no faces where one would expect to find them. Off-putting colors are used. Architectural walls that lack realistic detail and weight. Carefully planned long shadows. These are shadows that go beyond mere twighligth.

Surrealism was a movement which attempted to change the viewer’s consciousness.

The Dada/ Surrealist movement was an anti-art movement, and, a subversive attack on “civilized” standards. They had a nihilistic ethic. These movements were a revolt against the senseless barbarities of war.

Civilization had broken down despite the spiritual values that were supposedly delivered by Art and Christianity, as evidenced by the First World War. The rationalist approach ended. The Surrealists ushered in a new aesthetic. Nietze influenced this rejection of the values of the late 19th century.