The Mystery Baths
The Mystery Baths is a work by Giorgio de Chirico, created in 1973 for the garden of the Palazzo dell’Arte in Milan’s Parco Sempione. It was commissioned for the XV Triennale of Milan as part of a public-art project coordinated by Giulio Macchi. Made by the Chiampo company, it was intended for outdoor display, but because it stood unprotected it suffered repeated vandalism and was restored between 2001 and 2009. The original sculptures of the bathers and fish are now inside the Museo del Novecento in the Arengario, while a copy remains at the original site.
May 1994 © Mario Gorni · CC BY-SA 3.0
June 2016 © Mike Peel · CC BY-SA 4.0
April 2018 © Prelvini · CC BY-SA 4.0
© Paolo Monti · CC BY-SA 4.0
June 2016 © Mike Peel · CC BY-SA 4.0
Identification | |
| Title | Palazzo dell'Arte - Bagni misteriosi |
| French title | La Fontaine des bains mystérieux |
| Type | Sculpture |
| Alternative title | I bagni misteriosi |
Creator | |
| Artist | Giorgio de Chirico |
Historical context | |
| Public purpose | To make the works accessible to the public |
| Original conception date | 1934 |
| Production plan | The works were to be produced by large industries and installed in public spaces in Milan |
| Municipal acquisition plan | The Municipality of Milan was to purchase five of the twelve works |
| Intended duration | To be dismantled at the end of the event |
| Intended placement | Garden of the Palazzo dell'Arte in Parco Sempione, Milan |
| Actual outcome after exhibition | It remained in place and was not dismantled |
| Created for | A temporary exhibition |
| Commission and exhibition context | Made for the XV Triennale di Milano in 1973 as part of the Contatto Arte/Città project, conceived and coordinated by Giulio Macchi |
| Year of creation | 1973 |
Iconography and meaning | |
| Related motif in Cranach | Old women enter one side of a basin and emerge young on the other side |
| Possible artistic influence | Lucas Cranach the Elder's 1546 painting Fountain of Youth may have inspired the composition |
| Possible inspiration from childhood | De Chirico's childhood memories of Volos, especially the beach at the mouth of the Anavros River with long wooden bridges, sea platforms, cabins, and ladders into the water |
| Later versions | De Chirico continued to develop many versions of the Bagni theme throughout his life |
| Subsequent presentation | Seven paintings on the same theme were exhibited at the Third Quadriennale of Rome in 1935 |
| First appearance form | A portfolio of ten lithographs published by de Chirico as a supplement to Jean Cocteau's Mythologie |
| Subject | De Chirico's recurring Bagni misteriosi (Mysterious Baths) theme |
Location and ownership | |
| Initial location | The fountain in the garden of Palazzo dell'Arte in Parco Sempione, Milan |
| Current location of original sculptures | Museo del Novecento at the Arengario, Milan |
| Current display | The original sculptures of the bathers and the fish |
| Replica location | A copy is at the original site |
| Manufacturer | Built by the Chiampo company owned by Count Paolo Marzotto |
Materials | |
| Material | Marble |
Physical characteristics | |
| Form | A basin with a sinuous shape |
| Figures and objects | Two swimmers, a diving board, a ball, a cabin, a swan, a fish, and a fountain |
History and restoration | |
| Exposure and damage | Displayed outdoors without adequate protection and suffered numerous acts of vandalism over time |
| Restoration period | 2001 to 2009 |
Discovery and provenance | |
| Prototype status | A rough model of the work |
| Donated by | Giorgio de Chirico |
| Donated to | Remo Brindisi, then president of the Triennale |
| Current location of prototype | Remo Brindisi Contemporary Art Collection in Comacchio |
| Prototype elements | Cabin, lifebuoy, fish, swan, balloon, waterfall, and the sun with an inverted shadow |
| Prototype arrangement note | The positions of the elements do not correspond to those of the final work or the Rome sketches |