Giorgio de Chirico *

(Volos, Greece 1888–1978 Rome)
Cavallo e zebra sulla spiaggia, c. 1930, signed, oil on canvas, 73 x 92 cm, framed
Provenance:
Galleria del Milione, Milan (label on the reverse)
Galleria del Naviglio, Milan (label on the reverse)
Galleria del Cavallino, Venice (label on the reverse)
European Private Collection

Exhibited:
Milan, Galleria del Naviglio (stamp on the reverse)
Turin, Galleria Civica d’Arte Moderna, Capolavori d’arte moderna nelle collezioni private, November 1959, exh. cat. p. 53, no. 11, not ill. label on the reverse (dated 1926)
Verona, Galleria dello Scudo e Museo di Castelvecchio, de Chirico gli Anni Trenta, 13 December 1998 – 28 February 1999, exh. cat. p. 125, no. 27 with ill.
Mamiano di Traversetolo (Parma), de Chirico, Savinio una Mitologia Moderna, Fondazione Magnani Rocca, 16 March – 30 June 2019, exh. cat. p. 149, no. 47

Literature:
A. Pica, 12 opere di Giorgio de Chirico, Edizione del Milione, Milan 1947, no. 12 with ill.
Fondazione Giorgio e Isa de Chirico, Giorgio de Chirico, Catalogo Generale, vol. 3, opere dal 1913 al 1976, Maretti editore 2016. p. 106, no. 996 with ill.

From 1930, Giorgio de Chirico executed Horse and Zebra on the Beach. Set within a suspended atmosphere that transcends reality to reach the realm of τὰ μετὰ τὰ φυσικά (the metaphysical), a white steed and an unusual brown zebra gallop along the shoreline. Rendered on a monumental scale, the animals dominate a landscape constructed through a juxtaposition of rapid, vibrant brushstrokes. Shifting tones of white, grey, and brown – interspersed with blue, pink, and violet – fuse into an ethereal setting, evoking the dreamlike quality that permeates the entire composition. The zebra and horse move freely at the water’s edge, caught between the earth and a heavy, clouded sky; the scene is bathed in a diaphanous light that defies the depicted atmospheric conditions. In the background, a Greek temple with disproportionately small column drums serves as an essential link to classical antiquity. The work’s connection to mythology and the pictorial tradition of the Old Masters is evident in the choice of the subject. Having become almost a genre unto itself during the 19th century – through the works of Théodore Géricault, Horace Vernet, and Eugène Delacroix – the horse represented for de Chirico a classical repertoire to be explored alongside nudes, myths, and still life: “For my part, I constantly visit galleries and study the teachings of the masters; not only that, but I have often copied their works and continue to do so” (G. de Chirico, Espresso, March 10, 1947). Indeed, a clear formal dialogue exists between Géricault’s 1808 White Stallion in a Forest and de Chirico’s steed upon the shore. Horse and Zebra on the Beach (c. 1930) explores the core themes of de Chirico’s poetics, distilling them into a work that is both comprehensive and eccentric. First conceived in 1927, the subject held such significance for the artist that he selected it for the cover of his 1930 solo exhibition catalogue at The Arts Club of Chicago, returning to the motif throughout his career. Ultimately, the horse and zebra serve as a visual manifestation of the ideological tension between the Apollonian and Dionysian spirits, reflecting de Chirico’s deep engagement with the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche.