Oil paint on canvas
Tate Modern
Tate Collection
Works with images
Works on display
General Collection
Collection
<a href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/giorgio-de-chirico-902" aria-label="More by Giorgio de Chirico" data-gtm-name="header_link_artist" data-gtm-destination="page--artist">Giorgio de Chirico</a>
Painters Family
Purchased 1951
abstract concepts
abstraction
architectural fragments
architecture
building blocks
easel
family
family
features
figure
fine arts and music
from recognisable sources
mahlstick
man-made
mannequin
objects
painting
past - classical architectural fragments
society
symbols and personifications
toys and models
<p>In the mid-1920s de Chirico reworked many of the themes of his pre-war paintings in the light of his interest in the art of the old masters. In contrast to their pre-war counterparts, the mannequins in this work have a flesh-like solidity, while their grouping echoes traditional scenes of the Holy Family. The easel and painting stick appear to refer to the artist's belief in the importance of old-fashioned technical skills. However, de Chirico's attitude towards tradition and the past was always ambiguous and ironic. The building fragments that emerge from the mannequins' stomachs, for example, seem vaguely classical but also suggest a child's building blocks.</p><p><em>Gallery label, August 2004</em></p>
painting oil paint canvas
15 September 2001 – 10 March 2002
2002-03-10
15 September 2001 – 12 December 2001
2001-12-12
2001-09-15
Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen (Düsseldorf, Germany)
20 December 2001 – 10 March 2002
2002-03-10
2001-12-20
Stadtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus (Munich, Germany)
2001-09-15
The Other Face of Modern Art
Loan-out
20 January 2007 – 27 May 2007
2007-05-27
20 January 2007 – 27 May 2007
2007-05-27
2007-01-20
Palazzo Zabarella (Padova, Italy)
2007-01-20
De Chirico
Loan-out
15 September 2007 – 31 March 2009
2009-03-31
15 September 2007 – 31 March 2009
2009-03-31
2007-09-15
Tate Liverpool (Liverpool, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/liverpool/
2007-09-15
Convulsive Beauty
Collection based display
8 April 2010 – 11 July 2010
2010-07-11
8 April 2010 – 11 July 2010
2010-07-11
2010-04-08
Palazzo delle Esposizioni (Rome, Italy)
2010-04-08
Nature according to de Chirico
Loan-out
25 April 2013 – 1 September 2013
2013-09-01
25 April 2013 – 1 September 2013
2013-09-01
2013-04-25
Mori Arts Centre (Tokyo, Japan)
2013-04-25
Love
Loan-out
5 July 2014 – 5 July 2015
2015-07-05
5 July 2014 – 5 July 2015
2015-07-05
2014-07-05
Tate Liverpool (Liverpool, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/liverpool/
2014-07-05
Liverpool Biennial
Collection based display
10 July 2017 – 28 January 2018
2018-01-28
10 July 2017 – 28 January 2018
2018-01-28
2017-07-10
Glynn Vivian Art Gallery (Swansea, UK)
2017-07-10
Journeys and Visions: 20th Century Artists Series 2
Loan-out
28 May 2021 – 22 November 2021
2021-11-22
28 May 2021 – 22 November 2021
2021-11-22
2021-05-28
Centre Pompidou, Metz (Metz, France)
2021-05-28
Arcimboldo
Loan-out
1 November 2025 – 30 May 2027
2027-05-30
1 November 2025 – 28 February 2026
2026-02-28
2025-11-01
External
1 April 2026 – 31 July 2026
2026-07-31
2026-04-01
External
1 September 2026 – 31 December 2026
2026-12-31
2026-09-01
External
1 February 2027 – 30 May 2027
2027-05-30
2027-02-01
External
2025-11-01
IP: The Future of Statues: The Surrealist International
Loan-out
The Painter’s Family
support: 1464 × 1149 mm
frame: 1630 × 1320 × 80 mm
Purchased 1951
<p>In the mid-1920s de Chirico reworked many of the themes of his pre-war <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/p/painting" title="Glossary definition for 'Painting'"><span>paintings</span></a> in the light of his interest in the art of the old masters. In contrast to their pre-war counterparts, the mannequins in this work have a flesh-like solidity, while their grouping echoes traditional scenes of the Holy Family. The easel and painting stick appear to refer to the artist's belief in the importance of old-fashioned technical skills. However, de Chirico's attitude towards tradition and the past was always ambiguous and ironic. The building fragments that emerge from the mannequins' stomachs, for example, seem vaguely <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/c/classicism" title="Glossary definition for 'Classicism'"><span>classical</span></a> but also suggest a child's building blocks.</p>
Display caption
2004-08-31T00:00:00
display-caption
DISPLAY_CAPTION
<p><b>Giorgio de Chirico</b><span> 1888-1978 </span>
<br/></p>
<p><span><a class="acno-pop" data-gtm-destination="page--artwork" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/de-chirico-the-painters-family-n05976" title="View the details of this artwork"><span>N05976</span></a> </span><b>La Famille du Peintre</b><span> (The Painter's Family) 1926 </span>
<br/></p>
<p><span>Inscribed 'G. de Chirico' t.r.</span>
<br/><span>Oil on canvas, 57 5/8 x 45 1/4 (146.5 x 115)</span>
<br/><span>Purchased from Princess A.M. Callimachi (Knapping Fund) 1951</span>
<br/><i>Prov:</i><span>
With Léonce Rosenberg (Galerie de l'Effort Moderne), Paris (purchased from the artist); with Valentine Gallery, New York; with Pierre Matisse, New York, 1931; Arthur Jeffress, New York and London, 1936; Princess A.M. Callimachi, Egerton, 1946</span>
<br/><i>Exh:</i><span>
</span><i>French Pictures from the Collection of Mr Arthur Jeffress</i><span>, Southampton Art Gallery, August-September 1946 (15); </span><i>Giorgio de Chirico</i><span>, Palazzo Reale, Milan, April-May 1970 (75, repr.)</span>
<br/><i>Lit:</i><span>
James Thrall Soby, </span><i>Giorgio de Chirico</i><span> (New York 1955), pp.97, 161; Claudio Bruni, </span><i>Catalogo Generale Giorgio de Chirico. Volume primo: Opere dal 1908 al 1930</i><span> (Milan </span><i>c</i><span>.1971), No.68, repr.</span>
<br/><i>Repr:</i><span>
</span><i>Bulletin de 'L'Effort Moderne'</i><span>, No.31, 1927, between pp.8 and 9; Boris Ternovetz, </span><i>Giorgio de Chirico</i><span> (Milan 1928), 21st pl. </span>
<br/></p>
<p><span>Painted in Paris in 1926. 'The Painter's Family' dates from de Chirico's period of association with the <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/s/surrealism" title="Glossary definition for 'Surrealism'"><span>Surrealists</span></a> when he tended to revive the subjects of his earlier <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/m/metaphysical-art" title="Glossary definition for 'Metaphysical art'"><span>Metaphysical</span></a> period - in this case the mannequin figures - but in a heavier, more antique manner. The mannequin theme is said to have been inspired by a play </span><i>Les Chants de la Mi-Mort</i><span>
written by de Chirico's brother Andrea (Alberto Savinio) and published in Apollinaire's magazine </span><i>Les Soirées de Paris</i><span>
for July-August 1914. The drama's protagonist is a 'man without voice, without eyes or face'. </span>
<br/></p>
<p><span>The artist wrote of this <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/p/painting" title="Glossary definition for 'Painting'"><span>painting</span></a> (letter of 21 July 1958): 'The idea of these large heads shaped like an egg, which one also sees in my standing mannequins of the metaphysical type, did in fact come to me from seeing the <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/m/maquette" title="Glossary definition for 'Maquette'"><span>maquettes</span></a> designed by my brother who used the pseudonym of Alberto Savinio. My brother who was a writer, musician and painter, had written in 1914 a play entitled </span><i>Les Chants de la Mi-Mort</i><span>. This play was published in a revue edited then by Guillaume Apollinaire. My brother's works influenced in France, Guillaume Apollinaire, Jean Cocteau and also certain aspects of the work of Picasso. ... </span>
<br/></p>
<p><span>'In the Tate Gallery painting, the idea of these seated figures with a very developed bust and very short legs came to me on seeing certain Gothic figures (apostles and saints) which are seated.' </span>
<br/></p>
<p><span>The device of a painting-within-the-painting likewise made its first appearance in de Chirico's work of 1914. The picture on the easel has some general resemblance to the main <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/c/composition" title="Glossary definition for 'Composition'"><span>composition</span></a> in reverse, but does not appear to be directly related to any other painting. </span>
<br/></p>
<p><b>Published in:</b>
<br/><span>Ronald Alley, </span><i>Catalogue of the Tate Gallery's Collection of Modern Art other than Works by British Artists</i><span>, Tate Gallery and Sotheby Parke-Bernet, London 1981, pp.121-2, reproduced p.121</span>
<br/></p>

Catalogue entry
2004-09-15T00:00:00
catalogue-entry
CATALOGUE_ENTRY
abstract concepts abstraction architectural fragments architecture building blocks easel family family features figure fine arts and music from recognisable sources mahlstick man-made mannequin objects painting past - classical architectural fragments society symbols and personifications toys and models