Absorbing, exceptionally detailed study by noted authority examines early trends (including the influence of Blake and the Pre-Raphaelites), posters and book illustrations, stylistic influences in architecture; furniture, jewelry, and other applied arts; painting and sculpture; and the eclipse of the style. Perceptive discussions of many artists associated with the movement, among them Alphonse Mucha, Aubrey Beardsley, and William Morris.
The Greek-born Italian painter Giorgio de Chirico (1888-1978) was a master of metaphysical painting. His fusion of fantastic and dream imagery with object from everyday experience creates a surreal, sometimes disturbing landscape. This fully illustrated catalogue, published on the occasion of an important exhibition in Italy, presents de Chirico's work in relation to the world and myths of classical antiquity.
In 1919 in Rome, de Chirico discovered a neoclassical calling that appears in his subsequent work in his use of perspective, statuary and other objects, and classical characters. This scholarly work discusses de Chirico's neoclassical aesthetic as it contributes to his original metaphysical philosophy.
