De Chirico’s Calligrammes

13 April 2016

Pera Museum is proud to present an exhibition of Giorgio de Chirico, a pioneer of the metaphysical art movement and one of the most extraordinary artists of the 20th century.

Take a look at one of Giorgio de Chirico’s greatest graphical achievements, Calligrammes!

Calligrammes (1930) 

In 1930, Éditions Gallimard published G. Apollinaire’s 1913 poetic work Calligrammes, which is illustrated with sixty-six monochromatic lithographs by de Chirico. Paying homage to his dear friend Apollinaire, Calligrammes constitutes one of de Chirico’s greatest graphical achievements in terms of originality. Exhibited here in its interiority, he chose to illustrate Apollinaire’s poems with the Sun on the Easel theme that he had recently developed in Paris. Often depicting two suns or moons connected to one another via a cable, one appears illuminated whilst the other celestial body is ‘turned off’. The flow of power between the two stops at a certain point. De Chirico places this sun-wire-sun or moon-wire-moon motif in both interior and exterior architectural settings.

Highlighting his various periods with examples from his earliest works to last ones, Giorgio de Chirico: The Enigma of the World exhibition took place at the Pera Museum between 24 February - 08 May 2016.

Portrait of a Bullfighter (1797)

Portrait of a Bullfighter (1797)

The man is depicted in three-quarters view, turning straight to the viewers with a penetrating glance. The background is grey, while the clothes, the hair, and cap are black. 

Transition to Sculpture

Transition to Sculpture

If Manolo Valdés’s paintings convey a search for materiality, his sculpture does so even more. Today, sculpture has taken over most of his workspace, his time, and his efforts.

Mosques in the 18th and 19th Century Paintings

Mosques in the 18th and 19th Century Paintings

In the works of western painters, we encounter mosques as the primary architectural elements that reflect the identity of the city of Istanbul. Often we can recognize the depicted landscape as Istanbul simply from the mosques.