A Disscussion of Ariadne

The following is an in-depth exploration of the painting Ariadne and the painter Giorgio de Chirico. In the discussion, the components of the painting will be analyzed and the meaning of each will be determined in relation to the events of Chirico's life. The overall appearance of the composition will also be discussed. A picture of the painting Ariadne will be visible at all times at the left. Click on the picture to see a larger, more detailed version of the work as well as factual information on the painting.

Ariadne: An Explanation

In order to understand Ariadne, one must look at the layout of the painting. There are many simple geometric shapes such as arches, rectangles, and cones. Chirico’s use of these shapes can be attributed to upbringing; his father was an engineer who utilized such simple shapes to create substantial structures. These shapes change from angular to rounded forms as the flow of the painting moves one’s eyes further back. The evolution of the shapes coincides with a progression into futuristic objects. For example, the foreground of the painting contains ancient items, such as the statue of Ariadne and the arches of the structure on the right.

As one looks deeper in the painting, the subject matter moves to modern inventions including the train and the ship and then to the futuristic tower. However, it must be noted that the figure of Ariadne lacks rigid angles, which are present in the objects around her in the foreground of the painting. This emphasizes the irregularity of humans in the world. Humans are distinct when compared to other organisms due to the increased intelligence and modified behaviors of humans. In the beginning, humans created crude objects that were angular. As time progressed, humans created objects that were more rounded like them. This explains the progression to the rounded tower.

Unrealistic angles and vanishing points are evident after a closer inspection of the painting. The position of the Ariadne figure gives the illusion that the viewer is above the statue, but the structure of arches on the right contradicts this impression. The angle at which the arches can be seen makes it appear as though the viewer is on the ground; the bottom of the arches' curves can be seen. By having each object in the foreground have a different vanishing point, the objects are manipulated to achieve direction to the painting, specifically towards the tower in the background.

The contrast between light and dark is used to emphasize the more important elements of the painting. This contrast is achieved by making it appear that the scene takes place at sunset like many of Chirico’s other works (see Links). The light accentuates the tower and statue of Ariadne, which will both be discussed later in detail.

The sunset creates shadows over many areas of the painting, which help to express emotions. The large shadow from the structure creates a black path towards the tower. The path represents Chirico’s empty childhood and lonely life. As stated in the section About the Artist, Chirico lost his father during his youth and lived a solitary life. The path then leads up to the solitary tower, which represents Chirico’s isolated life. The shadow from the pedestal of Ariadne in combination with the structure’s shadow produces an arrow. In contrast to the dark path that symbolizes Chirio’s life, the arrow represents the friends and happiness that his life lacked. The arrow is directed away from the path and the tower which demonstrates how these elements, friendship and happiness, had not been present in his life. The relative size of the arrow illustrates that finding and leading a happy life is a difficult task, one which Chirico did not accomplish.

One of the most important elements of the painting is the figure of Ariadne (see Mythology). After aiding Theseus in the labyrinth, she was abandoned by him on an island. On the island, she was isolated and alone, thus she turns away from the arrow. Ariadne mirrors Chirico because he was also lonely.

The conflicting myths of Ariadne’s life on the island leave the complete story of her life unknown. This mystery is shown by the shadows she has on her face and the wrap over her body, which conceal the complete image of her.

The tower is another significant object in the composition. As stated above, it represents Chirico’s isolation. Like Chirico, the tower is stranded in an open area that has only a few inanimate objects. In the tower is a small trapezoidal door that appears to be hard to reach just as Chirico was inaccessible to many people. It is not known what the tower actually is, but perhaps it is a watchtower on the coast. This assumption is based on the presence of the boat near the tower and the fact that Chirico lived on the coast as a child. This would make Chirico, represented by the tower, an observer rather than a participant in life.

The two inanimate objects by the tower are the train and the ship, both of which are linked to Chirico’s father. One of the projects his father worked on as an engineer was the railroad. When his father died, Chirico was only left with the train. Thus the railroads became an important part of his life. The ship represents his father dying and leaving Chirico isolated as he is in the tower. The sails of the ship are still visible, illustrating the memories of his father.

About the Artist: Giorgio de Chirico

Giorgio de Chirico was born on July10, 1888, to Italian parents in Volo, Greece. His father, an engineer, was a great influence on Chirico. Not only is the word "engineer" often found in the titles of his paintings, but part of his style also came from his upbringing. Geometric patterns, mechanical forms, and straight lines are common features in Chirico’s paintings. Chirico was a pensive child and isolated from other children. In his solitude, Chirico developed a close relationship with inanimate objects, which are prevalent in his later paintings.

At a very young age, Chirico became enthralled with drawing. He would press prints up against the window and trace them over and over. Soon, however, this was not enough. He wanted to copy the prints without tracing them. One day, he was trying to copy a figure of John the Baptist, whose head was bent and foreshortened. He tried over and over to get it right, but to no avail. His father came over to Chirico, took his pencil, and drew a cross over John the Baptist’s head. He then drew an identical cross on Chirico’s paper. Using these crosses, Chirico’s father showed him how to find the correct location of the eyes and nose and shape and orientation of the head. Later, Chirico’s father allowed him to take lessons from Maviroudis, a young employee of the railroad company he was working for. Under Maviroudis, Chirico learned to draw the contours of a nose, eye, mouth, ear, curl of hair, and knot tied in a bow. By the age of seven, Chirico had completed his first oil painting, which was purchased by the Austro-Hungarian consul and hung in the consulate. Possibly because of this early success, Chirico’s family decided that he would become an artist, not an engineer as his father had planned. Soon after, they moved to Athens where Chirico enrolled in the Art Academy. He was not considered to be a promising student.

In 1905, Chirico’s father died. The following year, Chirico moved to Munich where he enrolled in the Royal Academy. He remained there for two years, but what he learned outside of the academy was nearly more important than what he learned in it. During those years, he learned the philosophy of aesthetics founded by Nietzsche and Wagner. One contemporary interpreter of Nietzsche, Robert Curtius, said something that fits Chirico’s work quite well. He wrote that Nietzsche believed that art "must distort reality, for reality is intolerable. The artist, so as to be able to live in this world of real contingencies, rebuilds and recreates it by raising up an unknown world of beauty which he enjoys with delight." In his later years, Chirico referred to Nietzsche as the man whose message awakened him to a consciousness of what he was and must become. If Chirico owed the philosophical basis for his painting to Nietzsche, then he owed the technical basis to Arnold Böcklin. Böcklin expressed in paint the metaphysical power of Nietzsche’s message. For Chirico, he was a painter of "magic realism," whose technique simultaneously made the real appear unreal, and the unreal, real.

In 1908, Chirico went to Italy to live with his mother. He lived in Milan for a year, and then moved to Florence, where he stayed for two years. He did not attend an art school, but instead made frequent trips to museums. He also took trips to the coastal and hill towns of northern Italy, all the time learning about Italian painting. He revered the fourteenth-century masters such as Uccello, Piero della Francesca, Masaccio, Bottecelli, and Caravaggio and would stand spellbound in front of their paintings. During this period, Chirico began to conceive of what has been called "Chirico City", his world of arches, statues, shadows, towers and trains bounded by distant horizons.

Chirico began a period of intense productivity in 1911, when he moved to Paris. Dwelling in solitude and having few friends, Chirico often went to the Louvre for comfort. The few friends Chirico did have were very significant in his career. Perhaps the most important was Picasso, who admired the paintings that Chirico had brought with him from Florence. With Picasso’s example, Chirico carried his painting on to a new level.

Ariadne: The Contingency

Before understanding how the painting is contingent, one must understand what contingency means. Having contingency implies that the painting's meaning is based on events surrounding the creation of the composition.

The painting Ariadne is more contingent on the events in Chirico's life instead of the events of the time. Many of the forms in the painting refer to periods of his personal life as stated above in the explanation.

Ariadne: A Political Commentary

The constant references to the past and simple geometric forms in the composition of Ariadne demonstrate a longing for the simplicity of the past. Although modern shapes are present, ancient forms dominate the painting. This suggests that the past was more important to Chirico.

Chirico, who painted Ariadne in 1913, was influenced by certain events of the time. As shown in the timeline of events, the most influential factors of the time were the tensions of the multiple conflicts, such as the battles in the Balkans, leading up to World War I. Chirico wished to return to a simpler time, one without bombs, deadly gases, and other modern devices of war.

Ariadne: Mythology

Ariadne, daughter of King Minos, fell in love with Theseus. Theseus, having to face the minotaur in the labyrinth, was aided by Ariadne. She gave him a ball of string to enable him to escape the labyrinth. She also advised him on how to kill the minotaur. Following Theseus' escape from the labyrinth, it is unclear what happened to Ariadne; there are several contradicting myths about her and Theseus. In some accounts the two escape together to the island of Dia, a small island north of Crete, while others describe how Theseus kidnapped Ariadne. Once on the island, Ariadne is either killed or abandoned by Theseus. The varying stories about Ariadne make it impossible to determine the events of her life.

For more information about Ariadne check out the links.