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..the flat surface of a perfectly calm ocean [which] disturbs us.. ..by all the unknown that is hidden in the depth.

— Giorgio de Chirico

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Notes from Wikiquote

De Chirico compared the metaphysical work of art to this image of a calm ocean

More quotes by Giorgio de Chirico

What I hear is valueless; only what I see is living, and when I close my eyes my vision is even more powerful.

Profound statements must be drawn by the artist from the most secret recesses of his being; there no murmuring torrent, no birdsong, no rustle of leaves can distract him.

We must also point out that it is precisely the metaphysical element of painting that provokes the creation of a physical substance that corresponds to its necessities, a material that permits the metaphysical element to manifest itself in the painted form it desires.

To become truly immortal a work of art must escape all human limits: logic and common sense will only interfere. But once these barriers are broken it will enter the regions of childhood vision and dream.

Everything has two aspects: the current aspect, which we see nearly always and which ordinary men see, and the ghostly and metaphysical aspect, which only rare individuals may see in moments of clairvoyance and metaphysical abstraction. (1919)

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Giorgio de Chirico (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.