The first painting I saw by Giorgio de Chirico was The Rose Tower. It’s at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, a wonderful museum where I’ve found inspiration for many comics.
The painting’s power is increased by its position in the gallery—it’s displayed not far from bright impressionist canvases of ponds and gardens. The juxtaposition of the dark tower with idyllic French landscapes makes this weird painting even weirder.
De Chirico is called a metaphysical painter. His imagery seems to be drawn from dreams and deep wells of inexplicable feeling. I’d like to spend time wandering his empty landscapes—as long as I had a return ticket home. I’d hate to miss the train and have to spend a night there.
Below are the titles of the paintings referenced in my comic. Even the names of the paintings are poetry. The list reads like the chapters of a metaphysical novel:
The Nostalgia of the Infinite
Enigma of the Arrival of Evening
The Melancholy of Departure
The Soothsayer’s Recompense
The Disquieting Muses
The Anguish of Departure
The Red Tower
Appearance of the Chimney
I also borrowed de Chirico’s most famous painting, Mystery and Melancholy of a Street, for one of my most popular comics of all time:
Reading back on this comic from 2012, I realized I’ve graduated in my own work. I used to be a Surrealist. Now I’m a practicing Metaphysician.
Grant Snyder, you are a metificician and, I think, also a mystic. You are not afraid to do a deep dive into Deep Mystery.
I love reading your comics and comments.
This was a wonderful homage to one of my favorite painters. And I too would like to explore those streets -- “return ticket home” indeed!