Natura Morta 

Curator: So this is a still life, “Natura Morta”, and although it’s undated we attribute it to Giorgio Morandi. It's an oil painting. Editor: Mmm, I feel this quietness, a sort of muted contemplation. The objects seem like they're holding their breath. Almost a hum. Do you feel that? Curator: Absolutely. Morandi was deeply engaged with Italian Renaissance traditions, yet he pursued such a radically reductive approach. His interest lay in the shapes and how light reveals form. He arranged common vessels, bottles, boxes on a tabletop in his Bologna studio, returning to them day after day. Editor: And look how subtly he manipulates color – these near-neutrals become incredibly rich through texture and slight shifts in tone. Those bands of blue and white are like tiny rebellions against the beige, aren't they? Almost musical. The arrangement and rendering are more dreamlike, less concrete. The work is also about repetition, isn't it? Curator: Yes, repetition was key. The bottles almost become stand-ins. I see that quiet, humble meditation also as something about interwar Italy. The regime looked for displays of virility and grand statements, and here comes Morandi focused just on the poetics of common objects. Editor: So, a subversive act of domestic intimacy and attention, through form and a specific mode of composition, in response to the dominant voices? Curator: Exactly. He subverts grandeur by exploring simplicity. There are always dialogues within a greater history. Editor: This simple assemblage of forms offers more than just their appearance. This hum evokes that push and pull... Thank you, Giorgio.