metaphysical painting

Italian painting style, developed in 1917 by Giorgio de Chirico and Carlo Carrà. It tried to create a sense of mystery through the use of dreamlike imagery; human beings were often represented as tailors' dummies, and objects appeared in strange, unfamiliar contexts. Reacting against both cubism and Futurism, metaphysical painting paved the way for surrealism, particularly in its use of familiar, everyday objects in absurd compositions. Though short-lived – only lasting to the early 1920s – its influence was considerable.

The characteristic metaphysical style can be detected in Chirico's work as early as 1913, although the term pittura metafisica was not used until 1917, when he met Carrà in a military hospital at Ferrara.

Also associated with metaphysical painting were the artist Giorgio Morandi (1890–1964) and the periodical Valori Plastici/Plastic Values, published 1918–21.