The Mystery and Melancholy of a Street, 1914
The idea behind this painting seems to be around kidnapping and other shady immoral things that happen the the shadows of normal life. The wagon in the picture is hidden in the shadows and the darkness makes it hard to see what's inside the wagon. The shaded out girl and ominous shadow on the road add another aspect to the thought of kidnappings. The painting contains a lot of dark colors and tones making the painting seem more darkened and spooky. The supposed time setting of the painting is dusk just before it becomes night, perfect time for things to go bad.
In comparison to Tracey Tawhiao the painting shows a similar sense of something being covered up. Both their art seems to talk about the things that aren't completely moral but nobody cares on the larger side of the equation. For Tracey the larger side of the equation is the large of people that only know English. For Chirico it is more towards the fact that if someone does get kidnapped only family and friends will care if they are or aren't found.
Kia Ora Thomas,
ReplyDeleteYou have listed some intriguing similarities between the ominous content that is suggested in paintings of Tawhaio and De Chirico. Do you find any connections between these themes and their uses of the grid, the way they create space?
Kia Ora Mr. Collins,
Deletein reply to your question I find that the building on the right does something like creating a grid. the line of the building seems to split apart the dark and the lighter parts of the painting.