Chapter 19 Closer Look 2: Hector and Andromache

Morford 11e Chapter 19 Image 19.9

Hector and Andromache

Hector and Andromache, by Giorgio de Chirico (1888–1978); oil on canvas, 1917, 351⁄2 3 231⁄2 in. Husband and wife, mannequins backed by receding frames, part at the Scaean Gate in an austere, stagelike setting with receding perspective. They are sheathed in geometrically shaped metallic plates, and the baby Astyanax is reduced to a steel wedge with a black disk for his head. De Chirico’s images of the intersection of war and the family are a disturbing interpretation of Homer’s moving scene.

Source: Scala / Art Resource, NY

Questions to Consider

1. At first, the elements in this painting may be perplexing, as if the pieces out of which the two figures are assembled were slapped together at random. But a closer look reveals a kind of balance between the two figures, as certain shapes (large and small) and patterns of color start to reveal themselves in each figure, some of which then find a visually suggestive match or “echo” in the other figure. How many of these echoes can you notice? And despite the fact that Hector and Andromache have this industrial look, many viewers have found this depiction of a husband and wife to be quite moving—if that is your reaction, try to isolate the elements (a particular arrangement of shape or color, maybe? something else?) that contribute to your response.

2. Consider the bare setting of this painting. What point might de Chirico be trying to make about Hector and Andromache—and perhaps, by extension, about myths in general—by placing them on a kind of stage, with minimal, blocky red props? The perspective of the painting also recedes past the figures and even the floor itself into a kind of dark nothingness, lit from below by a pale light. What does this striking play of darkness and light contribute to your understanding of the mood of the painting, or even your interpretation of the fates of Hector and Andromache?