Still Life 1919

Giorgio Morandi made this still life painting using oil on canvas. I wonder how long Morandi arranged those objects, adjusting them just so, before he even picked up his brush. There's a quietness here, a stillness that feels almost meditative. He was clearly trying to find the sublime in the ordinary, right? The colours are muted, like everything's been gently dusted with the same grey powder. Look at the way he models those peaches, the way he shades and curves the bottle: it's like he's feeling his way around each object, trying to understand its essence. It's not about grand gestures, but about subtle shifts of light and shadow. I bet Morandi was in dialogue with Cézanne and Chardin. All painters are, aren’t they? They were probably all trying to capture that same elusive quality of presence in their paintings, to show that painting is a place for slow looking.