In the collection of Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia — check current display status with the museum.
FROM THE BARNES FOUNDATION’S CATALOG
The Rose Tower is a monument of Giorgio de Chirico's early, "metaphysical" period. An ancient Roman tower (perhaps of the Tomb of Caecilia Metella or Turin's Porta Palatina) looms at center, from behind a low brick wall. The horse refers to the equestrian statue of Carlo Alberto in Turin, and by extension to the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche (who had once lived in an apartment overlooking the statue). The rectangular structure faintly visible at front-center recurs in many of de Chirico's paintings as both fountains and tombs. De Chirico intended for this pastiche of monuments, made strange by the raking light, to form an image of Nietzsche's metaphysics: existential absurdity (best exposed by limpid geometries), the power of the individual to make their own meaning, and the "eternal return" of events and motifs.
Be the first to share your thoughts.
Sign in to join the discussion.
Amedeo Modigliani — Cypresses and Houses at Cagnes (Cyprès e
William Joseph Eastman (American, 1888–1950) — Italian Night
Thorald Læssøe — A Sunny Street at Tivoli
James Duffield Harding (British, 1798–1863) — Sketches at Ho
David Young Cameron (British, 1865–1945) — St. Aignan, Chart
John Atherton — Rocks and Weeds
Alexis Gritchenko — Fortified Town
Jean-Achille Benouville — SS. Giovanni e Paolo, seen from th
Thomas Wijck — Landscape with a Tower
Pierre-Nicolas Brisset — View of the Ponte Nomentano (Roman 
Léon-François-Antoine Fleury — The Tomb of Caecilia Metella
Alexandre-Gabriel Decamps (French, 1803–1860) — The Good Sam
