Gare Montparnasse (The Melancholy of Departure) explained

Italic Title:no
Backcolor:
  1. FBF5DF
Gare Montparnasse (The Melancholy of Departure)
Year:1914
Catalogue:80538
Accession:1077.1969
Height Metric:140
Width Metric:184.5
Metric Unit:cm
Imperial Unit:in
Museum:Museum of Modern Art

Gare Montparnasse (The Melancholy of Departure) (Italian: La stazione di Montparnasse) (1914) is a painting by the Italian metaphysical painter Giorgio de Chirico. Many of de Chirico's works were inspired by the introspective feelings evoked by travel. He was born in Greece to Italian parents. This work was painted during a period when he lived in Paris.

The painting depicts the Gare Montparnasse railway station in Paris, France. It is a classic example of de Chirico's style, depicting an angular perspective on an outdoor architectural setting in the long shadows and deep colours of early evening. On the horizon is a steam train with a plume of white smoke billowing away from it. The train image appears several times in de Chirico's work. In the foreground is a bunch of bananas, another recurring image in de Chirico's work (cf. Le Rêve Transformé).

In 1916, de Chirico painted another work simply titled The Melancholy of Departure.

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