The Great Archaeologists (I Grandi Archeologi)

This numbered bronze cast of a plaster sculpture that de Chirico created in 1968 was cast in 1988 at the Bonvicini Foundry in Verona. The sculpture depicts two faceless mannequins seated on a low armchair. The mannequin on the right appears relaxed, embracing the one on the left, whose tense neck muscles and awkward posture suggest strain and unease. Both figures, with disproportionately large hands and short shins, bear on their torsos the ruins of ancient temples. Their pose is peculiar, as if posing for a photograph. De Chirico first explored the theme of archaeologists in a 1927 painting of the same title. In 1940 he created a terracotta sculpture on the subject, painted by hand. As these works reveal, for de Chirico the body is a kind of ark, a container for the uncharted soul, an excavation site inscribed with latent memories. For his two archaeologists—of Freudian origin—the past, the history, and the landscape are all embodied, rather than abstract ideas. At the same time, this work can also be understood as a meditation on friendship and devotion, given that the same series includes a smaller sculpture titled Orestes and Pylades.