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拍品专文
This work is sold with a photo-certificate from the Fondazione Giorgio e Isa de Chirico, Rome.
Paintedbetween 1926 and 1927, Leone e leonessa in riva al mare presents a rare, unique variation of a theme largely explored by Giorgio de Chirico in the 1920s: horses by the sea. In the catalogue of the 1987 exhibition De Chirico, gli anni Venti, Maurizio Fagiolo dell’Arco qualified the picture as ‘A unique work in the history of de Chirico’s career’ (De Chirico: gli anni Venti, exh. cat., Milan, 1987, p. 232). Evoking exotic scenery, the picture appears as a fascinating, yet reverential portrait of lions, presented as powerful, stately and symbolic creatures. They seem to roam this idealised and intellectualised perception of Antiquity: a world made of vast seas, glorious ruins and profound meanings. The intense red tones of the palette are characteristic of de Chirico’s paintings of the 1920s and are reminiscent of the earthy colours used in Roman mural painting, once again evoking the great civilizations of the past.
In 1926, de Chirico returned to Paris, where the enigma of his early Pittura Metafisica had preceded him, igniting the imaginations of the Surrealists. By the mid-1920s, however, de Chirico had abandoned his earlier style to explore new compositions which conjured a universe animated by the myth of Antiquity and by epic scenes. Although new works such as Leone e leonessa in riva al mare left the Surrealists surprised, they aroused the enthusiasm of intellectuals such as Jean Cocteau and collectors such as Léonce Rosenberg. In 1928, Rosenberg commissioned de Chirico with the decoration of the living room of his luxurious Parisian apartment. The project was part of an ambitious decorative cycle that Rosenberg had devised, bringing together some of the most boldly creative artists of the time, namely Francis Piacabia, Fernand Léger and Max Ernst. On that occasion, Rosenberg and de Chirico planned a series of Roman gladiatorial combat scenes. On one of the panels, de Chirico retuned to the theme of the lions first explored in Leone e leonessa in riva al mare, choosing to depict a violent fight between gladiator and lions, revealing his continued interest in the theme: lions – savage, yet noble creatures associated with Classical art, biblical scenes and the wild – were a subject for de Chirico, and are here shown, dignified in an ageless setting that taps into his notion of cyclical time.
Paintedbetween 1926 and 1927, Leone e leonessa in riva al mare presents a rare, unique variation of a theme largely explored by Giorgio de Chirico in the 1920s: horses by the sea. In the catalogue of the 1987 exhibition De Chirico, gli anni Venti, Maurizio Fagiolo dell’Arco qualified the picture as ‘A unique work in the history of de Chirico’s career’ (De Chirico: gli anni Venti, exh. cat., Milan, 1987, p. 232). Evoking exotic scenery, the picture appears as a fascinating, yet reverential portrait of lions, presented as powerful, stately and symbolic creatures. They seem to roam this idealised and intellectualised perception of Antiquity: a world made of vast seas, glorious ruins and profound meanings. The intense red tones of the palette are characteristic of de Chirico’s paintings of the 1920s and are reminiscent of the earthy colours used in Roman mural painting, once again evoking the great civilizations of the past.
In 1926, de Chirico returned to Paris, where the enigma of his early Pittura Metafisica had preceded him, igniting the imaginations of the Surrealists. By the mid-1920s, however, de Chirico had abandoned his earlier style to explore new compositions which conjured a universe animated by the myth of Antiquity and by epic scenes. Although new works such as Leone e leonessa in riva al mare left the Surrealists surprised, they aroused the enthusiasm of intellectuals such as Jean Cocteau and collectors such as Léonce Rosenberg. In 1928, Rosenberg commissioned de Chirico with the decoration of the living room of his luxurious Parisian apartment. The project was part of an ambitious decorative cycle that Rosenberg had devised, bringing together some of the most boldly creative artists of the time, namely Francis Piacabia, Fernand Léger and Max Ernst. On that occasion, Rosenberg and de Chirico planned a series of Roman gladiatorial combat scenes. On one of the panels, de Chirico retuned to the theme of the lions first explored in Leone e leonessa in riva al mare, choosing to depict a violent fight between gladiator and lions, revealing his continued interest in the theme: lions – savage, yet noble creatures associated with Classical art, biblical scenes and the wild – were a subject for de Chirico, and are here shown, dignified in an ageless setting that taps into his notion of cyclical time.