The Red Tower

A key example of Giorgio de Chirico's early 'metaphysical painting', 'The Red Tower' (c. 1913) sets a blazing brick-coloured tower at sunset behind an empty arcaded plaza, with a classical equestrian statue and two tiny dark figures anchoring the foreground. Steam from a distant train rises beyond the wall. The inexplicable shadows, the depopulated depth of field, and the displaced monument combine into de Chirico's signature stage set of dream and memory — a direct source for the Surrealism of André Breton, Ernst, and Magritte. It is among the most reproduced works in Peggy Guggenheim's Venetian collection.

Exhibition Venue

Peggy Guggenheim Collection

Venice, Italy