The Melancholy of Departure
De Chirico created this painting after returning to Italy from Paris to join the Italian Army at the beginning of World War I. The Melancholy of Departure exemplifies his move away from the bright and open scenes of his earlier career, and his further focus on internal settings and abstract combinations of everyday items. It illustrates a cluster of items used in painting. An easel holds a map, and an archway in the back of the room reveals a tower in the background. This painting was also the inspiration for a song by American Jazz artists Mark Isham and Art Lande, also entitled “The Melancholy of Departure.”
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Janet Sobel
1942
