The Melancholy Of Ariadne

Giorgio de Chirico (1888-1978) is the most important artist of Metaphysical Painting in Italy. He move everywhere all over the world during his lifetime and painting career. Maybe these experiences cause the result that his painting styles changing dramatically time and time again. The diversity of motifs he chose maybe resulted from the same reason. His painting style changes constantly. He painted from copying others and himself to abstract metaphysical; free and repeated between abstract and concrete. Talking about the motif and element in his works, there's also one obvious clue after we list all the elements appeared in his paintings systematically. Such as "the moving steam train and the small station, broad distant Italian Place, "lengthening shadow", "clock and the statue" and "the figure Ariadne from the Ancient Greek mythology" etc. The repeated use of such images constitutes a "sad Ariadne" motif.This article will take the "sad Ariadne" motif as a clue to list the theme and motif systematically in the art history (including former generation artists and the descendants artists, and also includes the comparison of works by de Chirico himself as well) and the text resources of the myth point out two emotions-happy ending and desolate sadness. Trying to figure out the Motivation why de Chirico chose this motif and source of the melancholy feelings in his works with the theory of Collective Unconscious by Jung.