Lot Essay
De Chirico painted numerous self-portraits throughout his life, showing himself alone or in the company of his mother or brother, or with classical busts. "This obsessive depiction of himself may have involved an element of narcissism; but these self-portraits were also examples of theatrical role-playing and a means by which he expressed his view of the artist as a heroic, visionary figure. (Exhibition catalogue, E. Cowling and J. Mundy, On Classical Ground, Picasso, Léger, de Chirico and the New Classicism 1910-1930, London, June-Sept. 1990, p. 79).
Having been called up and stationed in Florence when the war broke out in 1919, the year the present painting was executed, staying with his mother at the Park Hotel in Rome, he started to copy certain old masters in the Galleria Borghese. Discussing his return to classicism immediately after the war. According to his friend and dealer, Claudio Bruni Sakraischik, de Chirico "started everything all over again, freed from the torments of his youth and from his inner anxieties" (Exhibition catalogue, de Chirico, New York, 1982, p. 72).
Of the present painting Claudio Bruni Sakraischik writes Rittratto dell'Artista con la Madre "has particular significance. The two juxtaposed figures present a disquieting resemblance so that one wonders whether one is not identifying with the other. The light hits the image of the woman sitting by a window, the image of a young and pensive de Chirico appears like the projection of the shadow of his mother's profile. He is staring into the distance and if she were not herself looking towards the viewer, her profile would overlap his, forming one single identity. The premature death of his father and the strong personality of his mother are facts that marked de Chirico's youth and his whole life" (C. Bruni Sakraischik, Giorgio de Chirico, Post-Metaphysical and Baroque Paintings, no. 122, Book I, vol. 2).
The painting was bought by the celebrated Surrealist collector Edward James from the Zwemmer Gallery in 1937. A great supporter of the Surrealist movement, James was a close friend of Dali, Magritte and Leonora Carrington. He purchased this double portrait at the height of his patronage for the movement: he was financing the publication of the groups magazine Minotaure, had made an agreement with Dali to take his entire output for a general allowance and was actively seeking high quality works for his collection. For further details of Edward James's collection and patronage please refer to the sales held in these Rooms on 30 March 1981 and 2-6 June 1986.
Having been called up and stationed in Florence when the war broke out in 1919, the year the present painting was executed, staying with his mother at the Park Hotel in Rome, he started to copy certain old masters in the Galleria Borghese. Discussing his return to classicism immediately after the war. According to his friend and dealer, Claudio Bruni Sakraischik, de Chirico "started everything all over again, freed from the torments of his youth and from his inner anxieties" (Exhibition catalogue, de Chirico, New York, 1982, p. 72).
Of the present painting Claudio Bruni Sakraischik writes Rittratto dell'Artista con la Madre "has particular significance. The two juxtaposed figures present a disquieting resemblance so that one wonders whether one is not identifying with the other. The light hits the image of the woman sitting by a window, the image of a young and pensive de Chirico appears like the projection of the shadow of his mother's profile. He is staring into the distance and if she were not herself looking towards the viewer, her profile would overlap his, forming one single identity. The premature death of his father and the strong personality of his mother are facts that marked de Chirico's youth and his whole life" (C. Bruni Sakraischik, Giorgio de Chirico, Post-Metaphysical and Baroque Paintings, no. 122, Book I, vol. 2).
The painting was bought by the celebrated Surrealist collector Edward James from the Zwemmer Gallery in 1937. A great supporter of the Surrealist movement, James was a close friend of Dali, Magritte and Leonora Carrington. He purchased this double portrait at the height of his patronage for the movement: he was financing the publication of the groups magazine Minotaure, had made an agreement with Dali to take his entire output for a general allowance and was actively seeking high quality works for his collection. For further details of Edward James's collection and patronage please refer to the sales held in these Rooms on 30 March 1981 and 2-6 June 1986.