- 24
Giorgio Morandi
Description
- Natura morta
- signed Morandi (lower left)
- oil on canvas
- 40.5 by 46cm.
- 16 by 18 1/8 in.
Provenance
Augusto Giovanardi, Milan
Galería Theo, Madrid
Private Collection, Madrid (acquired from the above in 1979)
Thence by descent to the present owner
Exhibited
Literature
Catalogue Note
Giorgio Morandi’s meticulously composed still-lifes dominated throughout his career. Like others of his generation, he looked at the Italian art of the early Renaissance with fresh eyes, simultaneously conscious of the legacy of tradition as well as the regional and rustic aspects of the Italian cultural heritage. Equally vital was the legacy of Cézanne, whose intense focus on reality and an individual way of seeing encouraged Morandi to discover the simple geometric solidity of everyday objects. This was to become his subject, although his style moved through several very distinct phases. The objects, invariably household items such as bottles, jars, pitchers and bowls, were laid out with the calculated precision of a classical composition, yet the way in which they are painted establishes their presence as self-contained forms in space.