Salvador Dali & The Surrealists: The Argillet Collection | Page 41

G iro g i o d e C h i r i co 1888-1978 Italian painter Girogio de Chirico was born in Greece and received his training in Athens and the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich, Germany. The enormous impact on the formation of his art evolved from his romantic appeal to metaphysical painting, where the world of dreams is represented in reality, a feature that made Chirico the forerunner of Surrealism. Frequent images of Chirico’s art appear as depersonalized asexual mannequins on joints which impart an air of mystery to Chirico’s paintings. This feature is also typical of the master’s graphical works from the Argillet Collection. He met Pierre Argillet in the late 1960’s in Paris.  “Art is the fatal net which catches these strange moments on the wing like mysterious butterflies, fleeing the innocence and distraction of common men.” —DE CHIRICO 36 DETAIL: Hebdomeros in a Boat in His Room