The Metaphysical Art Movement: #sothebyssundaysketch

De Chirico is an artist I had not come across, which is odd because I did study surrealism, especially Dali. So, before starting my #Sotheby sundaysketch I wanted to learn something about him. De Chirico was born in 1888 in Greece, died 1978 in Rome, and had both an Italian and Greek background. He studied fine art in Athens and Munich and was later influenced by the German philosophers, Nietzsche and Schopenhauer (Polish born German) both of whom informed his art. He started the Metaphysical Art Movemen (Pittura Metafisica) in 1910 on the strength of this. However, it was a short-lived movement, lasting only 9 years and ending only 2 years (1919) after it was officially established in 1917 with two other artists, his brother, Alberto Savinio, and Carra, who became a fascist in 1919. Carra became a supporter of art as state ideology which, post-1937, meant neo-classicism and anti-centralism. What I find interesting is that neo-classicism was the brain child of Johann Joachim Winckelmann (1717-1768), an openly gay man, who also co-founded scientific archaeology. Furthermore, Winckelmann is seen as the one who gave birth to art history!

What made Metaphysical Art distinctive was its use of light and dark, dream -like yet vaguely disturbing, empty quality. Nietzsche famous for his 'God is dead' declaration had a nostalgia for the ancient world which is seen as the Foundation of Western Civilisation (and often promoted as the ideal by Conservatives). Hence, de Chirico often included Roman architecture in his paintings such as columns and arches. One of the distinguishing features of his paintings was the inclusion of long shadows and, like all Surrealists, illogicality was a hallmark of his art. A disjointed perception of time and space was his aim. He disliked modern art or anything modern, especially after 1919 when he abandoned Metaphysical Art. 

In my artwork this week I have incorporated all these elements to create an original piece. Sotheby's example was that of a horse and zebra so I took the theme of animals and looked for an unusual animal that is very rarely talked about and is native to a particular continent. The jaguarundi fitted the bill. It lives only in South America and is like a wild cat except it has a very small head considering the size of its body. Hence, it already has a mysterious quality about it, almost sinister. I found a public domain image, free from copyright and under a Creative Commons license, on the internet. I started drawing it freehand on black cartridge paper with a 9B (black) graphic pencil to create the light/dark contrast de Chirico was keen on featuring in his art. The pencil would make black marks on white paper but on black paper, it gives a silvery, shiny, light effect which I used as a twist on the white de Chorico used. I drew it off-centre, so I would have space to show what the jaguarundi was looking at with horror. I used this space to incorporate the Roman architectural element. I chose an amphitheatre and, to show the disjointedness of time, I drew its ruins (Alberto was obsessed with Ancient ruins) being struck by a rocket falling to earth, which was something that was actually happening that very day 9th May 2021. The top right hand side of the painting shows the rocket falling while, at the same time, I've drawn the debris of the rocket in the bottom left hand corner in the foreground. The rocket is both falling and fallen at the same time which is illogical.

I've portrayed the dislocation of space by geographically clashing the South American jaguarundi with an Ancient ruin in Europe. The latter clashes with real time, ie the Roman era clashing with the 21st century. The other uses of space in my artwork include the notion that space enters planet earth by means of a rocket falling onto a Roman ruin. This plays with the word 'space' and space on the paper. An artist has to think where to place their ideas on a page/canvas. This placement can often carry meaning.

I have, in keeping with de Chirico, included long shadows within the work which, I think, gives an air of disquiet. Another clash is an ecological one: the jaguarundi lives in an area of the world which experiences a great deal of deforestation, destruction and loss of habitat, often driven by Western demand for products and a desire to expand so-called civilization. So the juguarundi's shock and emotional response to the dangerous destruction and loss exploding behind it tells the broader story of human destruction, and debris they leave behind, be it space junk or poor waste management, and how this impacts on the natural world. The jaguarundi is also expressing the human commentary, which was taking place that week/day, on the falling rocket and the concern that it could land in an urban area. It's depicting a nightmare situation which gives it a dream-like quality. A surrealist situation because a rocket has never landed in an urban area (although one has landed debris in an African village) but nevertheless, with a strange element of realism. It could have hit a densely populated area with potential for loss of buildings and lives. This suits the Metaphysical Art Movement because this movement brings out its greater emphasis on reason (and highlighting illogicality) than Surrealism which priorities the subconscious (and the irrational).