Böcklinesque Beginnings (1909-1910)

13 March 2016

Having undergone several years of formal artistic training –first frequenting Athens’ Ethnikò Metsòbion Polytechneìo (1900-1906) followed by Munich’s prestigious Königlichen Akademie der Bildenden Künste (1906-1909)– de Chirico’s early Böcklinesque paintings mark his debut as a free-thinking artist, liberated from daily institutional constraints. The work of Swiss symbolist painter  Arnold Böcklin (1827-1901), which de Chirico came into close contact with during his time in Munich, proved seminal in this post-academic phase, an artist whom de Chirico championed for executing works of mythological and fantastical subject matter that convey a disquieting sense of surprise, revelation and déjà vu. Inspired by Böcklin’s choice of subject matter and timeless atmosphere (Stimmung), clear parallels can be found in a number of the artists’ work, including the exhibited Battle with the Centaurs (1909. The metaphysical intensity of the work of German symbolist Max Klinger (1857-1920) also inspired de Chirico’s early phase of 1909-1910.

Highlighting his various periods with examples from his earliest works to last ones, Giorgio de Chirico: The Enigma of the World exhibition took place at the Pera Museum between 24 February - 08 May 2016.

Geography

Geography

Pera Museum’s Cold Front from the Balkans exhibition curated by Ali Akay and Alenka Gregorič brings together contemporary artists from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia.

The Big Country

The Big Country

When the Royal Academy of Arts offered Stephen Chambers the opportunity to produce new work for a focused exhibition in the Weston Rooms of the Main Galleries, Chambers turned to print and the possibilities it offered.

Girl in a Blue Dress

Girl in a Blue Dress

This life-size portrait of a girl is a fine example of the British art of portrait painting in the early 18th century. The child is shown posing on a terrace, which is enclosed at the right foreground by the plinth of a pillar; the background is mainly filled with trees and shrubs.