Peonies

De Pisis in the paintingThe Peonies renders light and nuanced the reclining figure of Ariadne that he takes from De Chirico, placing her in the background of a composition that shows in the foreground a soft bouquet of flowers in a basket, not submerged in water and therefore destined to live a little longer, caught by the artist in the moment of maximum beauty that will shortly thereafter dissolve into decay and corruption of matter. The juxtaposition of the foreground and background is not accidental: Ariadne is abandoned by Theseus, who prefers knowledge to love and is meant to symbolize the melancholy of waiting; in turn, the peonies express a poignant sadness; they are painted in a warm pink that appears tainted by darker brushstrokes, revealing an almost carnal center to the flowers. The flowers, too, while radiating beauty, wait unconsciously for their end, and everything – the artist seems to affirm – love and beauty, is destined to disappear without a trace except the fleeting sensation of an exquisite moment.