Giorgio De Chirico and the Myth of Ariadne

The enigmatic paintings of Giorgio de Chirico (1888-1978), with their dreamlike imagery of deserted city squares filled with mysterious shadows, stopped clocks, and sleeping statues, had a profound influence on modern art. A key to understanding de Chirico's œuvre is an early series of eight paintings of the mythical Greek princess Ariadne. This theme, to which de Chirico returned again and again throughout his life, exhibits a serial approach to making art that foreshadows the work of Andy Warhol. Some 180 paintings, drawings, sculptures, and documentary photographs, as well as essays considering the literary, artistic, historical, and philosophical meanings of this series of paintings, including an unpublished text by Max Ernst, constitute an unparalleled range of primary research materials, and provide the best overall account of de Chirico's career.