GIORGIO DE CHIRICO | Piazzetta S. Marco e l'isola di S. Giorgio (Piazza San Marco and the Island of San Giorgio)

Private Collection, Rome (acquired from the artist in the 1960s)
Private Collection, Rome (by descent from the above. Sold: Christie's, Milan, 25th May 2010, lot 190)
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner 

Claudio Bruni Sakraischik, Catalogo Generale Giorgio de Chirico, opere dal 1951 al 1970, Milan, 1971, vol. I, no. 88, illustrated n.p.

Please contact the Impressionist and Modern Art Department (Phoebe.Liu@sothebys.com) for the condition report for this lot.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Venice and the art in which the city is steeped provided a lifelong source of inspiration to Giorgio de Chirico from his first visit to the city in 1905. The splendour of the city had gripped many generations of artists before him and masters such as Titian, Veronese and Tintoretto provided a constant source of inspiration for de Chirico. As Stephen McKenna described, 'In the corrupt and degenerate age in which he found himself de Chirico saw himself as a man with a mission to fill (...) the preservation, or rather restoration, of the dignity of painting, the reestablishment of a respect and love for the old masters and values they represent' (Stephen McKenna, Late de Chirico 1940-76 (exhibition catalogue), Bristol, 1985, pp. 11-12). De Chirico’s intellectual fascination with time and chaos, characterised most prominently in his metafisica works, also seems uniquely suited to representations of Piazzetta San Marco specifically and Venice at large. The restless heart of the city throngs with life, and as crowds move around beneath the characteristically misty skies de Chirico alludes to the intransient nature of the city. In much the same way as the influence of masters such as Giorgione and Tintoretto bore upon him, the profound influence of later masters Canaletto and Guardi are notably evident in the present work. Direct comparisons between the present work and Francesco Guardi’s View of Piazetta San Marco towards the San Giorgio Maggiore (Ca’ d’Oro, Venice), for example, highlight just how little has changed to the city through the intervening centuries and promote its centrality to the Western art historical canon.

Being able to return to well established imagery and build upon it, reimagining it for the contemporary viewer was a theme which ran through much of de Chirico’s oeuvre. Whether it was the inclusion of classical sculpture in his metafisica works, such as The Song of Love (Museum of Modern Art, New York), or the references to idealised Renaissance architecture in the frequently returned to Piazza d’Italia series. The present work is a fine example of a synthesis of many of de Chirico’s most significant themes.