The Eventuality of Destiny
<p><em>The Eventuality of Destiny</em> presents statuesque depictions of the Fates, the three goddesses of Greek mythology who personify inescapable destiny. It also exemplifies Giorgio de Chirico’s stark stylistic pivot in 1926 and 1927: He abandoned the airless piazzas of his earlier work, embraced the classical iconography of his native Greece, and began to employ a discordant color scheme of luminous tones. <p>The colors here—turquoise, periwinkle, and peach—are not the only elements that lend this classical scene a sense of unease. The strangeness they impart is amplified by the unusual proportions between the figures and the architecture they inhabit. In this spatially compressed composition, a single patch of blue sky relieves the claustrophobia.</p></p>
Catalogue
- Year
- 1927
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 146 × 114.3 cm (57 1/2 × 45 in.)
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Artist
- Giorgio de Chirico
Artist
Mixed Media
Giuseppe Maria Alberto Giorgio de Chirico was an Italian artist and writer born in Greece. In the years before World War I, he founded the scuola metafisica art movement, which profoundly influenced the surrealists. His best-known works often feature Roman arcades, long shadows, mannequins, trains, and illogical perspective. His imagery reflects his affinity for the philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer and of Friedrich Nietzsche, and for the mythology of his birthplace.
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More by Giorgio de Chirico
Mysterious Baths (Bagni misteriosi) (plate, folio 9) from 23 Gravures
1935 · Etching from an illustrated book with twelve etchings (one with aquatint and drypoint), five drypoints, three engravings (one with drypoint), two lithographs, and one woodcut
Il Bagnante Solitario (The Solitary Bather) (plate, folio 17) from Mythologie
1934 · One from an illustrated book with ten lithographs
Conversazione Misteriosa (Mysterious Conversation) (plate, folio 20) from Mythologie
1934 · One from an illustrated book with ten lithographs
Supplementary drawing from Mythologie by Jean Cocteau
1934 · Pencil on paper
Il Centauro Misterioso (The Mysterious Centaur) (plate, folio 14) from Mythologie
1934 · One from an illustrated book with ten lithographs
Mythologie
1934 · Portfolio of loose leaves containing twelve pages of printed text lithographed from author's handwritten manuscript and ten lithographic illustrations, signed and numbered
Record
Verified by WattsOS- Artist
- Giorgio de Chirico
- Year
- 1927
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 146 × 114.3 cm (57 1/2 × 45 in.)
- Watts ID
- WW-1927-144085
Source
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Source
- aic
- Reference
- View at source
- Status
- verified