Details

Provenance

André Breton, Paris (commissioned from the artist in 1924) René Gaffé, Brussels (probably acquired from the above by December 1929) Henry and Esther Clifford, Philadelphia (acquired from the above through E.L.T. Mesens, Brussels, on 25-26 June 1936) Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York (acquired from the above on 26 February 1941) Hugh Chisholm, Woodbury, Connecticut (acquired from the above on 30 April 1942) Bridget Bate Tichenor, New York (acquired by descent from the above by 1955) Gerrit and Sydie Lansing, New York Galerie Marie-Louise Jeanneret, Geneva Acquired from the above circa 1979-80 by the present owner

Exhibited

London, New Burlington Galleries, The International Surrealist Exhibition , 1936, no. 55, p. 16 (dated 1916) New York, The Museum of Modern Art, Fantastic Art, Dada, Surrealism , 1936-37, pl. 214, illustrated; pp. 39 and 260 New York, Pierre Matisse Gallery, Giorgio de Chirico, Exhibition of Early Paintings , 1940, no. 15 New York, The Museum of Modern Art, Giorgio de Chirico , 1955, pp. 127-28, illustrated; pp. 134 and 160 New York, The Museum of Modern Art; London, Tate Gallery; Munich, Haus der Kunst and Paris , Centre Pompidou, De Chirico , 1982-83, pl. 89, pp. 54, note 68, 72-73 and 79, note 46; p. 196, illustrated New York, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Surrealism: Two Private Eyes, 1999, vol. I, no. 62, p. 117; p. 119, illustrated in color (dated 1925)

Literature

Boris Ternovetz, Giorgio de Chirico , Milan, 1928, p. 9; n.p., illustrated (dated 1916) Sélection. Chronique de la vie artistique , vol. 8, no. 8, December 1929, p. 47 (dated 1917) Georges Ribemont-Dessaignes, “Giorgio de Chirico,” Documents , 1930, vol. 2, no. 6, p. 336, illustrated (dated 1917) James Thrall Soby, After Picasso , Hartford and New York, 1935, p. VIII; pl. 37, illustrated (dated 1917) Carlo Belli, Il Rubicone , no. 7, 1935, n.p., illustrated André Breton, What is Surrealism? , London, 1936, frontispiece, illustrated Giovanni Scheiwiller, Lo Duca Giorgio de Chirico , Milan, 1936, pl. VII, illustrated (dated 1916) Ejler Bille, Picasso, Surrealisme, Abstrakte Kunst , Copenhagen, 1945, p. 205, illustrated; p. 283 (dated 1917) René Gaffé, Giorgio de Chirico, le Voyant , Brussels, 1946, p. 10; pl. 17, illustrated (dated 1917) James Thrall Soby, “De Chirico: case history of the metaphysician,” ARTnews , vol. 54, no. 5, September 1955, p. 35 Sele arte , vol. IV, no. 20, September-October 1955, pp. 22-23 illustrated Luciano Doddoli, “Sono un prigioniero,” La fiera letteraria , vol. XLIII, no. 17, 25 April 1968, pp. 10-11 (titled Le Muse) Massimo Carrà, Patrick Waldberg and Ewald Rathke, Metaphysical Art , London, 1971, no. 139, p. 212; n.p., illustrated Carlo Ludovico Ragghianti, Il Caso de Chirico: saggi e studi di Carlo L. Ragghianti, 1934-1978, Florence, 1979, pp. 120-21, illustrated Maurizio Fagiolo dell’Arco, Giorgio de Chirico «Le rêve de Tobie». Un interno ferrarese, 1917 e le origini del Surrealismo , Rome, 1980, no. 85, pp. 29, note 21, and 62; p. 63, illustrated (dated circa 1924) Maurizio Fagiolo dell’Arco and Paolo Baldacci, eds., Giorgio de Chirico, Parigi 1924-1929, dalla nascita del surrealismo al crollo di Wall Street , Milan, 1982, no. 1, p. 479, illustrated; pp. 577-78 Exh. Cat., Milan, Galleria Paolo Baldacci, Giorgio de Chirico i temi della metafisica , 1985, p. 11 Exh. Cat., Milan, Palazzo Reale, De Chirico gli anni Venti , 1987, p. 112, illustrated (dated circa 1924) Maurizio Fagiolo dell’Arco, La Vita di Giorgio de Chirico , Turin, 1988, pp. 138-39 “Giorgio de Chirico, 1888-1978,” Modern Arts Criticism , vol. 2, 1992, p. 143 Exh. Cat., New York, Paolo Baldacci Gallery, Giorgio de Chirico: Betraying the Muse: De Chirico and the Surrealists , 1994, no. 47, pp. 52, 54, 111 and 116; p. 57, illustrated Maurizio Fagiolo dell’Arco, De Chirico Gli anni Trenta , Milan, 1995, pp. 105, 249 and 363-64; p. 107, illustrated (in reproduction of Carlo Belli, Il Rubicone , no. 7, 1935, n.p., illustrated) (dated 1916) Paolo Baldacci, De Chirico: The Metaphysical Period 1888-1919 , Milan, 1997, no. A6, p. 420, illustrated Alice Gambrell, Women Intellectuals, Modernism, and Difference: Transatlantic Culture, 1919-1945 , Cambridge, 1997, pp. VIII, 69 and 71; pl. 6, p. 70, illustrated Exh. Cat., Verona, Galleria dello Scudo, de Chirico gli anni Trenta , 1998-99, fig. A, p. 105; p. 110, illustrated (dated 1924-25) Jole de Sanna, “Giorgio de Chirico - André Breton: Duel à mort,” Metaphysical Art , nos. 1/2, 2002, pp. 64-65, 71 and 81 Giovanna Rasario, "The Works of Giorgio de Chirico in the Castelfranco Collection. The 'Disquieting Muse' Affaire ," Metafisica , nos. 5/6, 2006, pp. 287-90, 292-93, 296 and 297, note 127 Exh. Cat., Musée d'Art moderne de la Ville de Paris, la fabrique des rêves , 2009, no. 43, pp. 116 and 300 Elena Pontiggia, ed., Giorgio de Chirico: Lettere 1909-1929 , Milan, 2018, p. 311 Victoria Noel-Johnson, “De Chirico in the René Gaffé Collection & the Role of E.L.T. Mesens (Brussels-London),” Metaphysical Art , nos. 19/20, 2020, fig. 11, pp. 47, note 14, 48-49, note 16, 50, note 19, 51, 53-55, 57-61, 64, 66 and 80; p. 49, illustrated Fabio Benzi, Giorgio de Chirico. Life and Paintings , New York, 2023, pp. 295-98 and 300-12; p. 299, illustrated Exh. Cat., Conegliano, Palazzo Sarcinelli, Giorgio de Chirico: Metafisica continua , 2023-24, pp. 18-22, 27, 29-30, 32 note 15; p. 21, illustrated Exh. Cat., Turin, Museo di Arti Decorative, Giorgio de Chirico: 1924 , 2024-25, p. 29, illustrated; pp. 13, 17, 22, 25, 27-30, 32, 34, 226, 228, 230-235

Catalog summary

Description Giorgio de Chirico (1888 - 1978) Le Muse inquietanti signed G. de Chirico (lower left) oil on canvas 38 ⅞ by 25 ½ in.   98.6 by 64.8 cm. Executed in 1924. The authenticity of this work has been confirmed by the Fondazione Giorgio e Isa de Chirico. Provenance André Breton, Paris (commissioned from the artist in 1924) René Gaffé, Brussels (probably acquired from the above by December 1929) Henry and Esther Clifford, Philadelphia (acquired from the above through E.L.T. Mesens, Brussels, on 25-26 June 1936) Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York (acquired from the above on 26 February 1941) Hugh Chisholm, Woodbury, Connecticut (acquired from the above on 30 April 1942) Bridget Bate Tichenor, New York (acquired by descent from the above by 1955) Gerrit and Sydie Lansing, New York Galerie Marie-Louise Jeanneret, Geneva Acquired from the above circa 1979-80 by the present owner Exhibited London, New Burlington Galleries, The International Surrealist Exhibition , 1936, no. 55, p. 16 (dated 1916) New York, The Museum of Modern Art, Fantastic Art, Dada, Surrealism , 1936-37, pl. 214, illustrated; pp. 39 and 260 New York, Pierre Matisse Gallery, Giorgio de Chirico, Exhibition of Early Paintings , 1940, no. 15 New York, The Museum of Modern Art, Giorgio de Chirico , 1955, pp. 127-28, illustrated; pp. 134 and 160 New York, The Museum of Modern Art; London, Tate Gallery; Munich, Haus der Kunst and Paris , Centre Pompidou, De Chirico , 1982-83, pl. 89, pp. 54, note 68, 72-73 and 79, note 46; p. 196, illustrated New York, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Surrealism: Two Private Eyes, 1999, vol. I, no. 62, p. 117; p. 119, illustrated in color (dated 1925) Literature Boris Ternovetz, Giorgio de Chirico , Milan, 1928, p. 9; n.p., illustrated (dated 1916) Sélection. Chronique de la vie artistique , vol. 8, no. 8, December 1929, p. 47 (dated 1917) Georges Ribemont-Dessaignes, “Giorgio de Chirico,” Documents , 1930, vol. 2, no. 6, p. 336, illustrated (dated 1917) James Thrall Soby, After Picasso , Hartford and New York, 1935, p. VIII; pl. 37, illustrated (dated 1917) Carlo Belli, Il Rubicone , no. 7, 1935, n.p., illustrated André Breton, What is Surrealism? , London, 1936, frontispiece, illustrated Giovanni Scheiwiller, Lo Duca Giorgio de Chirico , Milan, 1936, pl. VII, illustrated (dated 1916) Ejler Bille, Picasso, Surrealisme, Abstrakte Kunst , Copenhagen, 1945, p. 205, illustrated; p. 283 (dated 1917) René Gaffé, Giorgio de Chirico, le Voyant , Brussels, 1946, p. 10; pl. 17, illustrated (dated 1917) James Thrall Soby, “De Chirico: case history of the metaphysician,” ARTnews , vol. 54, no. 5, September 1955, p. 35 Sele arte , vol. IV, no. 20, September-October 1955, pp. 22-23 illustrated Luciano Doddoli, “Sono un prigioniero,” La fiera letteraria , vol. XLIII, no. 17, 25 April 1968, pp. 10-11 (titled Le Muse) Massimo Carrà, Patrick Waldberg and Ewald Rathke, Metaphysical Art , London, 1971, no. 139, p. 212; n.p., illustrated Carlo Ludovico Ragghianti, Il Caso de Chirico: saggi e studi di Carlo L. Ragghianti, 1934-1978, Florence, 1979, pp. 120-21, illustrated Maurizio Fagiolo dell’Arco, Giorgio de Chirico «Le rêve de Tobie». Un interno ferrarese, 1917 e le origini del Surrealismo , Rome, 1980, no. 85, pp. 29, note 21, and 62; p. 63, illustrated (dated circa 1924) Maurizio Fagiolo dell’Arco and Paolo Baldacci, eds., Giorgio de Chirico, Parigi 1924-1929, dalla nascita del surrealismo al crollo di Wall Street , Milan, 1982, no. 1, p. 479, illustrated; pp. 577-78 Exh. Cat., Milan, Galleria Paolo Baldacci, Giorgio de Chirico i temi della metafisica , 1985, p. 11 Exh. Cat., Milan, Palazzo Reale, De Chirico gli anni Venti , 1987, p. 112, illustrated (dated circa 1924) Maurizio Fagiolo dell’Arco, La Vita di Giorgio de Chirico , Turin, 1988, pp. 138-39 “Giorgio de Chirico, 1888-1978,” Modern Arts Criticism , vol. 2, 1992, p. 143 Exh. Cat., New York, Paolo Baldacci Gallery, Giorgio de Chirico: Betraying the Muse: De Chirico and the Surrealists , 1994, no. 47, pp. 52, 54, 111 and 116; p. 57, illustrated Maurizio Fagiolo dell’Arco, De Chirico Gli anni Trenta , Milan, 1995, pp. 105, 249 and 363-64; p. 107, illustrated (in reproduction of Carlo Belli, Il Rubicone , no. 7, 1935, n.p., illustrated) (dated 1916) Paolo Baldacci, De Chirico: The Metaphysical Period 1888-1919 , Milan, 1997, no. A6, p. 420, illustrated Alice Gambrell, Women Intellectuals, Modernism, and Difference: Transatlantic Culture, 1919-1945 , Cambridge, 1997, pp. VIII, 69 and 71; pl. 6, p. 70, illustrated Exh. Cat., Verona, Galleria dello Scudo, de Chirico gli anni Trenta , 1998-99, fig. A, p. 105; p. 110, illustrated (dated 1924-25) Jole de Sanna, “Giorgio de Chirico - André Breton: Duel à mort,” Metaphysical Art , nos. 1/2, 2002, pp. 64-65, 71 and 81 Giovanna Rasario, "The Works of Giorgio de Chirico in the Castelfranco Collection. The 'Disquieting Muse' Affaire ," Metafisica , nos. 5/6, 2006, pp. 287-90, 292-93, 296 and 297, note 127 Exh. Cat., Musée d'Art moderne de la Ville de Paris, la fabrique des rêves , 2009, no. 43, pp. 116 and 300 Elena Pontiggia, ed., Giorgio de Chirico: Lettere 1909-1929 , Milan, 2018, p. 311 Victoria Noel-Johnson, “De Chirico in the René Gaffé Collection & the Role of E.L.T. Mesens (Brussels-London),” Metaphysical Art , nos. 19/20, 2020, fig. 11, pp. 47, note 14, 48-49, note 16, 50, note 19, 51, 53-55, 57-61, 64, 66 and 80; p. 49, illustrated Fabio Benzi, Giorgio de Chirico. Life and Paintings , New York, 2023, pp. 295-98 and 300-12; p. 299, illustrated Exh. Cat., Conegliano, Palazzo Sarcinelli, Giorgio de Chirico: Metafisica continua , 2023-24, pp. 18-22, 27, 29-30, 32 note 15; p. 21, illustrated Exh. Cat., Turin, Museo di Arti Decorative, Giorgio de Chirico: 1924 , 2024-25, p. 29, illustrated; pp. 13, 17, 22, 25, 27-30, 32, 34, 226, 228, 230-235