Athens is paying homage to Giorgio De Chirico with an exhibition of 35 masterpieces by the Greek-born Italian modern artist.
The show features a fine array of oil paintings and bronze statues inspired by Greek landscapes, architecture and mythology.
It is the first time Athens has devoted such a major show to the master, who was born in the Greek city of Volos to Italian parents in 1888.
He lived in Greece until he was 18 and studied in Athens before moving to Germany with his family in 1906.
De Chirico (1888-1978) created most of the paintings on display towards the end of his career, in the 1950s, 60s and 70s - long after the Metaphysical period of the second decade of the 20th century that he is most famous for.
Nevertheless, there are many outstanding works for visitors to admire.
The highlight is a 1927 painting called 'The Archaeologists'.
It is one of his typical Metaphysical works depicting a faceless couple whose clothes are made out of ancient Greek buildings and statues.
De Chirico had an enormous impact on 20th-century painting.
His Metaphysical movement influenced artists ranging from Joan Miro' to Alberto Giacometti, Arshile Gorky and Willem De Kooning.
The Italian's trademark works feature oddly haunting neo-classical buildings and statues towering above midget figures and empty streets. His later work turned more conventionally representational and slightly Baroque.
The artist originally drew inspiration from the tormented world-view of nineteenth-century philosophers Friedrich Nietzsche and Arthur Schopenhauer.
In the history of art, the Metaphysical movement lasted a brief decade. It was founded in 1917 by De Chirico and fellow Italian artists Giorgio Morandi and Carlo Carra'.
Some pictures by De Chirico and the other Metaphysical painters anticipate Surrealism, with their overt air of menace and troubling, mysterious symbols which give the viewer more questions than answers.
By painting people not as they appear but as mannequins or semi-abstract symbols, the Metaphysical painters aimed to reveal the reality underneath.
De Chirico directly influenced Morandi in a series of serene still lifes and landscapes.
Critics say his legacy can also be seen in Surrealists from Max Ernst to Rene Magritte and Salvador Dali, and, more controversially, in later abstract Expressionists such as Gorky and De Kooning.
The Athens show, entitled Giorgio de Chirico and Greece - A Journey Through Memory, runs at the city's Athinais culture centre until June 30.
