Book jacket is distressed and worn in places. Inside covers appears stained with glue residue, and back cover has a library sticker applied. Some pages have pencil markings. Discolouration on page spine. "Pittura metafisica", the Italian cousin and forerunner of Surrealism, was founded during the First World War by two artists of genius, Carlo Carrà and Giorgio de Chirico. Through the use of impeccable, almost naively classical forms placed in incongruous juxtapositions, they set out to create a supernatural sense of wonder and mystery. In metaphysical paintings, objects seem to be observed in the moment before or after some indescribable event; human beings become statues or dressmakers' dummies; Renaissance cities stand deserted or inhabited by menacing, magnified objects. A number f major artists - Filippo de Pisis, Alberto Savinio and Giorgio Morandi - were strongly influenced by Carrà and De Chirico, and contributed to the achievements of what became known as the metaphysical mov