Giorgio Morandi (Twentieth-Century Masters Series)

From Booklist
Few major twentieth-century artists seem duller at first glance than Morandi (1890^-1964). Except for some very early portraits, his work is "about" just three things: the landscape, with windowless houses, of hilly northern Italy; the courtyard of Morandi's apartment building in Bologna; and bottles, bowls, boxes, and other utensils atop a table. His palette of dusty hues is more subdued than that of the cubists, he regards his subjects from directly in front of them, and, except in the paintings from the year he was influenced by Di Chirico, he eschews dramatic effects. Those who know painting, however, see Morandi as the greatest disciple of Ce zanne and a painter whose subject is seeing itself and who, in the acts of seeing and representing, teases out meaning and feeling. Wilkin, one of the best contemporary writers on art, helps us realize Morandi's relationship to Ce zanne and also to the much earlier Giotto and Piero della Francesca brilliantly well. With 116 plates, an excellent library choice. Ray Olson


Book Description
This much-anticipated volume presents the work of the private, enigmatic Bolognese painter and engraver. The text traces Morandi's many influences, from Giotto to Cezanne and the Metaphysical painters to the Cubists, and discusses the manner in which his life and work have informed the critical interpretations of his art. A wealth of color reproductions illustrates every phase of Morandi's career, including his signature still lifes and landscapes with their serene groupings of muted objects.



Language Notes
Text: Italian


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Giorgio Morandi's lifelong pursuit of his poetic vision in still-life and landscape paintings as well as engravings and etchings has given him a deeply revered position in the history of modern art. This volume presents the work of this private and enigmatic twentieth-century Bolognese artist. Influenced by the work of Giotto, as well as Cezanne, the metaphysical painters, and the cubists, Morandi's work defies any label. His still-lifes and landscapes are serene groupings of muted objects, yet Morandi provokes a tension between them which speaks of spacial relationships, negative space, and nuances of light and color. The text traces Morandi's many influences, discussing the atmosphere of Bologna which affected the artist's work, and analyzing the myth which has formed around his life and personality.


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