The Nostalgia of the Infinite

The Nostalgia of the Infinite by Giorgio de Chirico is the most famous example of the tower theme which appears in many of de Chirico’s works. Nostalgia implies a never ending landscape despite being confined to a narrow canvas and employing only sparse, simple elements. De Chirico does a masterful job invoking infinity by creating a vision that feels like it extends far beyond the corners of the canvas. He uses several techniques to create this illusion:

Scale: the human figures are swallowed up by the environment. They are ants compared to the tower. The arched building in foreground looms even larger--note its size relative to the human figures. Even their shadows overwhelm them.

Shadows: The arched building in the foreground casts a crisp shadow covering nearly the bottom third of the painting. Its shape and scale suggests that the arch is not a mere freestanding structure but part of a much bigger building that we are only seeing a corner of. Also note that behind the arch we can see a shadow suggesting a third structure to the right of the frame.

Perspective: the dramatic perspective in Nostalgia is impossible. It is wrong but it is wrong in a specific way: the perspective mimics what we see from a moving train. The horizontal axis has been truncated, leading to dramatic perspective shifts as we move from left to right. We are seeing only a brief glimpse of this tower as we pass through a bigger journey.

Time: The architecture invokes antiquity. The plain walls, the columns and arches all harken back to the past. However the fresh flags and human visitors suggest that this scene is not an ancient ruin but a living site. This landscape extends forward and backward in time, beyond the moment we are seeing it in.

Mystery: The composition of Nostalgia is simultaneously simple and perplexing. It resembles a lighthouse on dry land. It is situated in the middle of a desert. Whatever purpose the building serves, it cannot be glimpsed through its few, spare windows. Furthermore, de Chirico makes subtle use of surrealist elements. The tower casts no shadow.  Five flags mark its four corners. The sky is a shade of bluish green that is not quite impossible, but entirely unlikely. These elements suggest that this landscapes hold secrets beyond what meets the eye.

‘Sometimes the horizon is defined by a wall behind which rises the noise of a disappearing train. The whole nostalgia of the infinite is revealed to us behind the geometrical precision of the square. We experience the most unforgettable movements when certain aspects of the world whose existence we completely ignore, suddenly confront us with the revelation of mysteries lying all the time within our reach and which we cannot see because we are too short-sighted, and cannot feel because our senses are inadequately developed. Their dead voices speak to us from near-by, but they sound like voices from another planet.’ - Giorgio de Chirico

Stray notes:

• De Chirico's use of color is quite striking
• Nostalgia undoubtedly inspired Fumito Ueda's ICO cover [link]. Ueda's works likewise revel in suggesting never ending landscapes from small segments thereof.
• In line with his quote, de Chorizo really does like hiding the infinite behind a wall [link] (both land AND sea hiding back there?)