The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 28, 2024

Metaphysical Interior

Metaphysical Interior

c. 1917–1939

attributed to Giorgio de Chirico

(Italian, 1888–1978)
(Spanish, 1906–1959)
Framed: 95.6 x 77.5 x 5.2 cm (37 5/8 x 30 1/2 x 2 1/16 in.); Unframed: 73.2 x 54 cm (28 13/16 x 21 1/4 in.)

Description

Greatly admired by the Surrealists, de Chirico joined the movement shortly after its formation in Paris in 1924. The Surrealist considered his "metaphysical" paintings of the 1910s models for exploring the unconscious through dream imagery. For years this painting, owned by Surrealist poet Paul Éluard in the 1930s, was attributed to de Chirico by leading experts, including James Thrall Soby and William Rubin. More recently that attribution has been challenged, and some authorities now assign it to fellow Surrealist Óscar Domínquez. Éluard's daughter, Cécile Grindel, believes it was painted by her father's close friend, the German Surrealist Max Ernst. The Surrealists enjoyed confounding reality by disorienting viewers through visual paradoxes and games of irrational role reversal, which in some cases involved painting compositions in the style of their colleagues.
  • Before 1940-before 1952
    Paul Eluard [1895-1952], Paris
    by 1952
    Bernard Poissonnier, Paris
    Until 1981
    (E. V. Thaw, New York, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1984-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio
  • info:srw/diagnostic/1/1javax.xml.transform.TransformerException: org.oclc.wcapi.openURL.utils.WCAPIDiagnostic: 1/java.net.SocketException: Connection reset : CitationsCitations
    Robinson, William H. “De Chirco Forgeries: The Treachery of the Surrealists.” IFAR Journal 4, no. 1 (2001): 10-17.
    E.V. Thaw & Co., invoice to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Nov. 30, 1981, in CMA curatorial file.
    Phantastiche Kunst des 20. Jahrhunderts. Basel, 1952.
    Robinson, William H. “De Chirco Forgeries: The Treachery of the Surrealists.” IFAR Journal 4, no. 1 (2001): 10-17.
    E.V. Thaw & Co., invoice to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Nov. 30, 1981, in CMA curatorial file.
    J.T. Soby, letter to Eugene Thaw, July 20, 1972, in CMA curatorial file.
    E.V. Thaw & Co., invoice to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Nov. 30, 1981, in CMA curatorial file.
    Henning, Edward B. Creativity in Art and Science, 1860-1960. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Published by the Cleveland Museum of Art in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1987. Reproduced: P. 71, pl. VI; Mentioned and reproduced: P. 126-127, no. 35
    Arendsee, M., and M. Steinman-Arendsee. "Take the CAN disability aesthetics tour, at the Cleveland Museum of art." CAN Journal (Winter 2019/20): 76-87. Mentioned: p. 86
    Guerra Cabrera, José Carlos. Óscar Domínguez: Obra, Contexto y Tragedia. Islas Canarias: José Carlos Guerra Cabrera, 2020. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 159, fig. 136
  • Creativity in Art and Science, 1860-1960. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 16-November 8, 1987).
    The Year in Review for 1981. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 17-March 21, 1982).
  • {{cite web|title=Metaphysical Interior|url=false|author=Giorgio de Chirico, Óscar Domínquez|year=c. 1917–1939|access-date=28 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1981.51