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Large circular still life with a bottle and three objects

Print
1946 (printed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The Bolognese artist Giorgio Morandi (1890-1964) is celebrated for his small-scale works, modest in colour and tonal values as well as in physical size and subject-matter (one of his favourite subjects was still-life composed of a variety of humble bottles or other domestic vessels). He was a prolific printmaker, and his etchings have the same quiet, meditative qualities as the paintings. Morandi endlessly explored the geometric and formal possibilities with apparently limited subject-matter, often using, as in this print, the same diagonal, straight-line hatching across the whole printing plate to create a wide range of tonal values.

This etching is one of four still lives set in tondos, which Morandi began in 1942. This composition is the reverse of that of a near-contemporary painting.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleLarge circular still life with a bottle and three objects (popular title)
Materials and techniques
Etching on paper
Brief description
Circular still life with a bottle and three objects by Giorgio Morandi. Italy, 1946.
Physical description
Etching from an almost circular plate on paper, depicting a bottle to left with tall narrow neck and wide full body a small bowl and small, globe shaped casket in foreground and a straight-sided squat vessel behind.
Dimensions
  • Plate height: 25.7cm
  • Plate width: 32.4cm
  • Sheet height: 34.9cm
  • Sheet width: 50cm
the plate is almost circular
Production typeLimited edition
Copy number
4/65
Marks and inscriptions
  • Morandi 1946 (Signature; date; within the plate; etching)
  • Morandi (Signature; pencil)
  • 4/65 (Maker's identification; pencil)
Subjects depicted
Summary
The Bolognese artist Giorgio Morandi (1890-1964) is celebrated for his small-scale works, modest in colour and tonal values as well as in physical size and subject-matter (one of his favourite subjects was still-life composed of a variety of humble bottles or other domestic vessels). He was a prolific printmaker, and his etchings have the same quiet, meditative qualities as the paintings. Morandi endlessly explored the geometric and formal possibilities with apparently limited subject-matter, often using, as in this print, the same diagonal, straight-line hatching across the whole printing plate to create a wide range of tonal values.

This etching is one of four still lives set in tondos, which Morandi began in 1942. This composition is the reverse of that of a near-contemporary painting.
Bibliographic reference
Hopkinson, Martin, Italian Prints 1875-1975 London : British Museum Press, 2007 no.64
Collection
Accession number
CIRC.360-1960

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Record createdDecember 15, 2002
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