- 33
Giorgio Morandi
Description
- Natura morta
- firmato
- olio su tela
- cm 35,5x40
- Eseguito nel 1953
Provenance
Collezione privata, Venezia
Ivi acquisito dalla famiglia dell'attuale proprietario
Literature
Condition
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Catalogue Note
An Export licence has been requested for this lot
La Natura Morta qui proposta, realizzata nel 1953 da Giorgio Morandi, evidenzia degli aspetti caratteriali dell’artista talvolta inesplorati dalla critica, più concentrata ad analizzare l’estetica dalla sua produzione piuttosto che le vicende umane che l’hanno formata. In questo specifico caso, tuttavia, pur constatando che l’aspetto compositivo generale dell’opera denota un’eleganza estetica di rara fattura, è fondamentale indagare il contesto di relazioni umane attorno a cui Morandi dipinse questo lavoro. La tela, infatti, fu eseguita specificatamente per l’artista Leone Minassian, che vedeva, nel bolognese, un punto di riferimento di fondamentale importanza. Minassian, nato a Costantinopoli nel 1905, si trasferì in età adolescenziale a Venezia, dove ebbe l’occasione di approfondire il suo interesse per l’arte. Interessante, da questo punto di vista, notare il ruolo di Maestro che Morandi, di quindici anni più anziano, ebbe nei suoi confronti. Minassian era affascinato e intrigato dall’abilità morandiana di partire dalla realtà per raggiungere atmosfere elusive. Ciò si può notare anche in questa tela, in cui l’equilibrio degli oggetti rappresentati sfugge all’aspetto materico degli oggetti stessi per raggiungere una sensazione estetica di profonda leggerenza, accentuata dai toni morbidi del periodo stilistico post bellico. Come evidenziato dalle lettere tra i due artisti, Morandi, consapevole del suo ruolo di Maestro nei confronti del turco, scelse di regalargli specificatamente questa tela, che si può quindi ritenere come un lascito didattico che egli volle impartire a Minassian. In questa lettura, si può pertanto pensare che quell’ombra, che si appoggia delicatamente al tavolo, stia proprio a simboleggiare il rapporto protettivo che l’artista bolognese aveva intimamente nei confronti di Minassian.
This Still Life executed by Giorgio Morandi in 1953, underlies aspects of the artist’s work often not mentioned by art critics; art critics were mostly concentrated in the aesthetic of his work rather than in the human aspects that characterized it. In the specific case however, even if the aesthetic aspect of the work demonstrates a superior elegance, it is fundamental to analyse the context of Morandi’s human relationships at the time he painted it. The canvas was in fact painted for the artist Leone Minassian, who perceived in the work of the Bolognese artist a fundamentally important point of reference. Minassian, born in Constantinople in 1905, moved to Venice as adolescent, where he cultivated his interest in art. It is interesting to note how incisive was Morandi’s teaching to this artist who was fifteen years younger than him. Minassian was fascinated and intrigued by Morandi’s ability to create such elusive atmospheres simply taken from reality. This aspect can be noticed even in this Still Life, where the balance between the depicted objects escapes from the material quality of the objects themselves, reaching an aesthetic sensation of deep lightness accentuated by the softness of his post war style. As clearly evidenced by the written correspondence between the two, Morandi was fully aware of his role of Tutor, he appositively chose to donate to his younger pupil this painting, that can therefore be considered a sort of didactic gift. In this interpretation, one can think that the shadow delicately depicted on the painting’s table, symbolizes the protectiveness Morandi nurtured towards this younger artist.