Natura Morta 1957

This is an oil painting of flowers by Giorgio Morandi, who was born in Bologna, Italy, in 1890. The title, Natura Morta, means "still life," but what does it mean to make a still life during the first half of the twentieth century? Like many artists of his generation, Morandi had to come to terms with the radical legacy of the avant-garde, movements like Cubism and Futurism. But while many Italian artists embraced the machine age, Morandi retreated to a world of quiet contemplation, focusing on the mundane objects that populated his studio. Morandi seems to be commenting on the crisis of representation in modern art. Is it still possible to find meaning in traditional forms like still life painting? By studying his life and the cultural institutions of his time, such as the Bologna Academy of Fine Arts, we can come to appreciate the social and political forces that shaped his art.