Description of the picture:
Melancholy and hidden streets – Giorgio de Chirico. 1914. Oil on canvas. 87×71.5 cm
“Melancholy and the secret of the street” is the most famous work not only of de Chirico, but of the whole direction in art, called “metaphysical painting”. The picture has been carefully studied by art critics more than once, and the creator himself introduced many explanations later.
The picture is visually divided into two parts – a square illuminated by the sun with an arcade and hidden by a shadow, a frontal plan with the same arcade. The main role here is also shared by two hypostases – heroes in the form of a girl running after a hoop and a formidable shadow, to which the girl rushed, also the desolate city landscape depicted in various isometric projections.
The history of the study of this picture by specialists is a vivid example when people want to find a hidden deep meaning that the author did not even lay down. For many years it was discussed that the shadow to which the girl runs is nothing but a person who carries danger and an extreme degree of aggression.
De Chirico himself explained that this is just a shadow from a statue that is not visible to the viewer. A lot of controversy causes and open the door of the van, hidden in the shadow of the building. Some believe that history is hidden here: this is a childish prank of the heroine of the picture, while others are sure that the image of the open doors of the van was dictated only by compositional requirements.
In general, everything in this picture is subject to the creation of a harmonious harmonious composition, and for this purpose the author is not afraid to destroy the laws of projection and space and introduce ambiguous moments into the plot."