Giorgio De Chirico (1888-1978)

The Venetian masters Giorgione, Titian, Veronese and Tintoretto were a constant source of inspiration for de Chirico: "In the corrupt and degenerate age in which he found himself de Chirico saw himself as a man with a mission to fill... the preservation, or rather restoration, of the dignity of painting, the reestablishment of a respect and love for the old masters and values they represent" (S. McKenna, Late de Chirico 1940-76, exh. cat., Bristol, 1985, pp. 11-12). The artist first visited Venice in 1905 and throughout his career he exhibited his paintings at the Venice Biennale. These sojourns provided him with the opportunity to study the city's distinctive architecture and wealth of old masters at length.