“Metafisica. Quaderni della Fondazione Giorgio e Isa de Chirico” is a bilingual Italian-English periodical which publishes recent studies on Giorgio de Chirico and his oeuvre, by internationally-known scholars as well as a new generation of researchers from different fields of expertise. In order to promote knowledge of Giorgio de Chirico’s art, which the Foundation likes to consider as a discipline of research, a significant quantity of unpublished historic documents are regularly divulged in the periodical.

The publication deals with various areas of research ranging from historical and technical analyses of the Maestro’s artwork and literary production to exhibition critique. In addition to new studies, well-known yet difficult to find reviews and appraisals concerning the Maestro’s art are also regularly published. To date, such written work has included commentaries by Giorgio Castelfranco (1924), Carl Einstein (1930), Albert C. Barnes (1936), Clement Greenberg (1947), Salvatore Quasimodo (1966), Renato Guttuso (1970) and Julien Levy (1977).

Recently discovered manuscripts of previously unknown written work and correspondence by the artist (from the Foundation’s Archive and a number of other Italian and international archives) constitutes a significant part of the material published. To date, the following texts have appeared: Pro tempera oratio (1920); Ecrit sur l’architetture pour «Esprit Nouveau» (1921); the French manuscript of Mr. Dusdron which is an early draft of the novel Il Signor Dudron (published posthumously in 1998); Birth of the Mannequin (1938); The Brain and Hand (1940s); Giorgio de Chirico during the War (late 1940s); Le Ballet – commedie en 4 actes (1965); as well as an extraordinary collection of autobiographies. Since the periodical first appeared in 2002, over 110 letters written by de Chirico to poets, writers, patrons of the arts, art dealers and artists have been published, the majority of which was unpublished primary source material. In the forth issue n. 7/8 (2008), de Chirico’s entire collection of poems was presented – for a total of 101 published and unpublished works – . The biennial publication is further enriched by a chosen selection from the artist’s theoretic and critique essays, many of which are translated into English for the first time.

Reproductions of manuscripts habitually appear in the periodical (when the quality of the original documents is sufficient) and are methodically accompanied by transcriptions in the original language – Italian, French, German or modern Greek – with full translation in English.

Published every two years, the c. 600 page volume is of interest to scholars, students and art lovers alike. It is distributed throughout the world and can be found in eminent libraries, universities, art academies, museums and cultural institutions.

In the name of research, the contents of the four issues published to date: n.1/2 (2002), n. 3/4 (2004), n. 5/6 (2006) and n. 7/8 (2008) has been made available for consultation in this section and  can be downloaded in pdf format.*

(Due to the periodical’s published form, images are found in the Italian version of a specific essay, whereas the English text is presented as a straight translation void of illustrations. It is therefore suggested that the English reader consult the Italian text for the images – which are clearly and consecutively numbered – in parallel to reading an essay in English.)

*All rights reserved: © Le Lettere S.r.l., Florence ;  © Pictor O – Fondazione Giorgio e Isa de Chirico, Rome

If you should wish to quote from the material, please use the following form of reference:

For the first issue: n. 1/2 (2002):

Author, Title of Essay, “Metafisica. Quaderni della Fondazione Giorgio e Isa de Chirico” n. 1/2 (2001-2002), T’chne editore, Milan, Pictor O, Rome, 2002, pp. 1-10.

For the other issues: n. 3/4 (2004), 5/6 (2006), 7/8 (2008), please follw this example:

Author, Title of Essay, “Metafisica. Quaderni della Fondazione Giorgio e Isa de Chirico” n. 7/8 (2007-2008), Le Lettere, Florence, Pictor O, Rome, 2008, pp. 1-10.

*All rights reserved: © Le Lettere S.r.l., Florence ;  © Pictor O – Fondazione Giorgio e Isa de Chirico, Rome

If you should wish to quote from the material, please use the following form of reference:

For the first issue: n. 1/2 (2002):

Author, Title of Essay, “Metafisica. Quaderni della Fondazione Giorgio e Isa de Chirico” n. 1/2 (2001-2002), T’chne editore, Milan, Pictor O, Rome, 2002, pp. 1-10.

For the other issues: n. 3/4 (2004), 5/6 (2006), 7/8 (2008), please follw this example:

Author, Title of Essay, “Metafisica. Quaderni della Fondazione Giorgio e Isa de Chirico” n. 7/8 (2007-2008), Le Lettere, Florence, Pictor O, Rome, 2008, pp. 1-10.