Voyeurism

Rome, Piazza di Spagna, Palazzetto dei Borgognoni.

Don’t we all become voyeurs at times? Especially when our passion is Interior design? Have you ever been in a major artist’s house? Well today I will show you the House- Museum of one of the greatest modern Italian artists. 

 

Giorgio de Chirico 1888-1978 was a pre-Surrealist Italian painter and sculptor, then Surrealist and finally founder of pittura metafisica. His surname is traditionally written De Chirico (capitalized De) when it stands alone.

D'après Giorgio is a project by Luca Lo Pinto: for a full year it will be possible to see his house while many internationally renowned artists will be interacting with the space and his creations.
Giorgio de Chirico lived for the last 30 years in the top three floors of Palazzetto dei Borgognoni, in the central and gorgeous Piazza di Spagna (Spanish steps) in Rome, and here from January 27th, 2012 there will be an alternating display of installations by famous designers and artists  like Martino Gamper, Luca Trevisani, Carlo Mollino and many more.

Let’s go in…

 

De Chirico’s study and Library.

 

Very 1950’s De Chirico bedroom.

From the House-Museum website: “The apartment’s rooms and 1950-style furnishings were restored following a rigorous study of old photographs and historic anecdotes. The same method was applied to the arrangement of the paintings and sculptures. On the main first floor, the luxurious rooms evoke a Rubenesque vision of grand 17th century style salons with their red damask curtains, numerous ornate gold frames, wooden cherubs, marble tables and silverware, Persian carpets and Louis XVI-style armchairs. Conceived as a magnificent ‘living gallery’, this area of the apartment was once a lively, vibrant place of gatherings and receptions.”

His books, his colors, his tools for his art and a drawing in the background.

A very classic living and dining areas divided by red drapes, like a theatrical scene. As in many elegant houses of the time the living room often was more a “gallery” of antiques and art, used only for major entertaining, while the real daily social life happened in smaller and more comfortable rooms.

Photography by Massimo Listri

A vignette showing his bar: memory lane…I remember when everyone was drinking Punt e Mes as aperitivo, quite unusual now to find it in Italian bars. Drinks are like fashion, one day hip, the next day obsolete.

A piece by  contemporary artist Paul Armand Gette, B&W photography La toilette de la Nymphe,  between the original objects of De Chirico’s house.

Another installation: on the left an original sculpture by De Chirico, on the right Martino Gamper’s Chair 'n' Box, 2008. As a background De Chirico famous metaphysical paintings.

A new bulb for an old lamp and an extraordinary sculpture on the right.

During the year the public will also be able to see for the first time many photographs from the Fondazione Isa and Giorgio de Chirico archives and a series of art critics, curators and artists will accompany visitors to present their vision of the whole project.

“They say that Rome is at the centre of the world and that Piazza di Spagna is in the centre of Rome, therefore, my wife and I, would indeed be living in the centre of the centre of the world, which would be the apex of centrality, and the apogee of anti-eccentricity.”

Giorgio de Chirico

Photography by Lorenzo Gigotti


©2012 Brillante Interiors writes about new trends, timeless decor, iconic pieces, design ideas, or at times just musing about "a certain Italian way of doing things".
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