Giorgio Morandi

Giorgio Morandi was an Italian painter and etcher who spent almost his entire life in Bologna. After a brief metaphysical phase around 1918 to 1919, he devoted himself to quiet still lifes of bottles, jugs and boxes and to landscapes of Grizzana, exploring infinite variations of form, light and muted colour. Admired by artists from the post-war era to minimalism, he is now considered one of the great modern masters of restraint. His paintings are small and his output steady, giving the market good depth and regular international demand, with still lifes from the 1940s and 1950s most sought after. His record, a Natura morta of 1940, sold for 4.3 million dollars at Christie's New York in May 2018.