Morandi, Giorgio (1890–1964)

Italian painter and etcher. He was influenced by metaphysical painting. He concentrated on still lifes, his studies of bottles and jars, which explore subtle relationships of a limited range of colours and forms, conveying a profound sense of calm and repose. Still Life (1946; Tate Gallery, London) is typical.

Morandi spent most of his life quietly in Bologna. He studied art there 1907–13, his first influences – which lasted throughout his career – being Cézanne and Giotto, artists who satisfied his sense of order and restrain. He was associated with the metaphysical painting of de Chirico and Carrà 1918–20, though their mood of disquiet and anxiety was largely alien to his quiet and contemplative personality. He steadily pursued his own course, painting still lifes – bottles and jars on a table top seen at eye-level, or flowers in vases – and a few landscapes (views of the country around Bologna). He also produced numerous etchings of the same subjects.