Etching on cream wove paper, 1956. 140x195 mm; 5 1/2x7 7/8 inches, full margins. Third state (of 4). Signed and numbered 56/150 in pencil, lower margin. A superb, richly-inked impression of this scarce etching.
The primary focus of Morandi's (1890-1964) œuvre is simple, muted still lives. He taught himself the basics of printmaking in the early 1910s after admiring the work of Old Masters such as Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) and Francisco José de Goya (1746-1828). His etchings reflect his unique practice of hatching and cross-hatching to build form and volume, avoiding descriptive outlines. This, paired with the areas of bianco assoluto, or "absolute white," that he left in his etchings, created atmospheric, contemporaneous still lives. He taught etching at the Accademia di Belle Arti, Bologna from 1930-56, and in his lifetime, he completed some 1350 oil paintings and 133 etchings. Vitali 116.
