The Uncertainty of the Poet

Article: Terrie Tai

Title: The Uncertainty of the Poet
Artist：Giorgio de Chirico (1888 – 1978)
Work Date: 1913
Materials: Oil on canvas
Style：Metaphysical
Size：h41 3/4 x w34 inch
Collection: Tate Gallery London

A pile of bananas and a Classical plaster – cast of a female torso appear in front of an arcade.
 
The horizon is defined by a wall. Behind this, a train disappearing into the distance can just be seen. Such a collection of objects may appear arbitrary and nonsensical, but each has a symbolic meaning: the plaster cast symbolizes a human presence. The bananas represent exoticism. The train, a voyage.
 
The outlines of all this strange imagery are drawn with vigour. However, it is the shadows, monumental and menacing as they sweep across the picture, that add power and mystery.