On view

Cross-Collections Gallery

Still Life,

1957

Giorgio Morandi, 1890–1964; born and died Bologna, Italy
y1986-74
Born in Bologna, Morandi studied and then taught at the local Academy of Fine Arts, remaining in his birthplace all his life. He deliberately restricted his subject matter and traveled little, perfecting his style in solitude. Still-life and, to a lesser degree, landscape were his subjects. This still-life, from the peak of Morandi’s career, demonstrates the subtle compositions and coloration of his best works. Taking utensils arranged in varying, concentrated groupings as motifs, he explored increasingly lighter, more neutral colors and the shadows conveying the plasticity of the vessels. His meditation on color and form—the elements of painting—and on making the objects "present" is nearly religious in intensity and purpose.

More Context

<p>A lifelong resident of Bologna, Morandi was influenced by the works of Cézanne and Picasso as well as those by Giotto and Piero della Francesca. Beginning in the early 1920s he restricted his painting primarily to still life compositions of bottles and utensils. Often posing the same vessels in varying groupings, Morandi explored neutral color hues and subtle tones to convey the vessels’ plasticity and three-dimensional presence. </p>

Born in Bologna, Giorgio Morandi studied and then taught at its Academy of Fine Arts, remaining in his birthplace all his life. The works of Cézanne, Giotto, Masaccio, and Piero della Francesca, as well as the city of Rome itself (the scene of a few early trips), were decisive influences. He deliberately restricted travel and subject matter, perfecting his style in solitude. Still life and landscape were his favored themes, with few figural works. A painter’s painter and printmaker’s printmaker, Morandi was once considered provincial, but toward the end of his life, some critics believed him to be one of the greatest living artists.

Information

Title
Still Life
Dates

1957

Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
25.5 × 40 cm (10 1/16 × 15 3/4 in.) frame: 42.2 × 57.1 × 5.4 cm (16 5/8 × 22 1/2 × 2 1/8 in.)
Credit Line
Bequest of Clinton Wilder, Class of 1943
Object Number
y1986-74
Signatures
Signed, lower left: Morandi
Culture
Materials

Clinton Wilder, New York, New York, bequest; to Princeton University Art Museum, 1986.