ABSTRACT
Giorgio de Chirico was an accomplished poet as well as a painter is not widely known. And yet a considerable body of poetry exists that not only parallels the development of his Metaphysical Art but also sheds additional light on his artistic endeavors. Understandably, perhaps, since de Chirico was living in Paris, the first group of poems was composed almost entirely in French. Shortly after inventing Metaphysical Art de Chirico began to experiment with Metaphysical Poetry. Eventually, beginning around 1980, critics began to understand that the paintings are symbolic representations of two forces that, according to the artist, govern the universe. For de Chirico, every painting was conceived first of all as a voyage of discovery. The railroad station with its flags and large clock occurs in many of de Chirico's early paintings. While Picasso began to cultivate a Classical style, de Chirico developed an interest in Renaissance art and began to paint pictures that were realistic.
