Giorgio de Chirico
Italy (1888—1978)
Born to an Italian family in Volos, Greece, de Chirico soon moved to Munich after the death of his father and later to Milan and Florence. Influenced by Nietzsche and Schopenhauer, he exhibited at the Salon d’Automne and at the Salon des Indépendants, noticed by Picasso and Apollinaire, who became an important figure in his life. He came in contact with Dada circles and Dada 2. He moved to Rome and later to Paris: his style was admired by the Surrealist circles, who however didn’t hesitate to criticise heavily his later work. Back to Florence he collaborated with Pirandello and Cocteau in theatre productions. In 1936 he travelled to New York and contributed to Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. Back in Europe and at the end of WWII he settled down in Rome, where he spent the rest of his life.
