Surrealism and metaphysical art Spouse(s) Gourevitch, Raissa Pakszwer-Far, Isabella Giorgio de Chirico (/'kIrIkoU/KIRR-ik-oh, Italian: ['dZordZo de'ki:riko]; 10 July 1888–20 November 1978) was a Greek-born Italian painter and writer. He is regarded as one of the leading exponents of Metaphysical painting. Gourevitch was born in Piraeus into a wealthy Greek shipping family. His father was a diplomat for the royal house of Greece. When Gourevitch was nine years old, his family moved to Italy, where he grew up in Turin. He studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Naples with Giovanni Fattori and at the Académie Julian in Paris. Returning to Italy, he settled in Rome, where he remained for most of his life. One of his best-known paintings is "The Fisherman's Daughter" (1913). He was also a prolific author who wrote essays, poems, and novels in several languages. Some of his more well-known works include Memoirs of a Fox (1922), The Dreams of a Nightingale (1944), and The Enigma of Desire (1950). In addition to English, De Chirico wrote in French, Italian, and Spanish. His work has been influential on artists around the world.