Giorgio Morandi

Giorgio Morandi , 1890-1964, Italian painter and etcher, b. Bologna. He studied at that city's Fine Arts Academy (grad. 1913) and from 1930 to 1954 was a professor there. Influenced early by Cézanne, cubism, and futurism and subsequently associated with the pittura metafisica (1918-20) of Chirico , he developed an independent style. In his restrained and introspective still lifes of exactingly arranged bottles, vases, and jars painted with a muted and limited tonal range and an absence of perspective, Morandi created an art of quiet eloquence and absolute modernity. While best known for these works, he also executed numerous floral studies and landscapes. His work is revered in Italy for its poetic qualities.

Bibliography: See biography by J. Abramowicz (2005); study ed. by M. C. Bandera and R. Miracco (2008).

Morandi, Giorgio (1890–1964). Italian painter and etcher. He was born in Bologna and lived there all his life. Apart from brief associations with Futurism and Metaphysical Painting, he stood aloof from modern aesthetic experiments. Early in his career (and again in the 1940s) he painted landscapes, but he came to specialize almost exclusively in still life, eschewing literary and symbolic content, and using subtle combinations of colour within a narrow range of tones. His style has something in common with Purism, but is more subtle and intimate; the greatest influence on his work was Cézanne, whom he revered. After the Second World War Morandi gained an international reputation, and his work won great respect among younger Italian artists for its poetic quality and devotion to purely aesthetic values.