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Lot Essay
Known primarily for his still-life paintings, Giorgio Morandi also had a close affinity for the landscape genre, as he extensively depicted his surroundings both from the window of his apartment in Bologna and at Grizzana, a small rural village in the Appenines where he often retreated during the summer months. Painted in 1936, on the eve of the Second World War, Paesaggio demonstrates how the artist transformed these rural scenes, using the simplest of means, into absorbing and evocative images.
The mid-1930s are among the most stylistically fruitful periods of Giorgio Morandi’s oeuvre. In fact, some of the richest still-life compositions, and largest and most inspiring landscapes were executed between 1934 and 1936; Paesaggio is undoubtedly one of them.
With its tightly cropped orchard scene, the austere brushstrokes, and the strong contrasts of light, the present lot is also a clear example of Morandi’s admiration for Paul Cézanne and how his influence is most visible in his landscapes. The painter was familiar with many of Cézanne’s landscapes, and is said to have loved La Montagne Saint-Victorie au grand pin of 1887, which was already reproduced in books and magazines in Italy since the 1920s.
Of the several views of Grizzana Morandi painted throughout his life, Paesaggio is particularly charming for its deep palette and rich composition; it thus comes as no surprise that the painting has been requested for most of the major exhibitions consecrated to the subject of Morandi and nature, both in Italy and abroad.
The painting has never been seen at auction before, as it was purchased from the Gian Ferrari Gallery by the late owner in 1986, and has remained in the same family since.
Property from a Distinguished Italian Collection:
There is a considerable difference between a group of paintings put together as a form of investment and an art collection in its most authentic meaning. The next six lots belong to the latter: a sophisticated collection of works of art, assembled by a passionate, discerning art lover and his wife.
The late owner started collecting in the 1960s and continued through the 1990s. Some key elements were in his favour: he was gifted with strong entrepreneurial skills, elegant taste and intellectual curiosity, but he also had an excellent guide in Claudia Gian Ferrari.
Claudia Gian Ferrari (Milan, 1945-2010) was an important protagonist of the Italian art scene. In the gallery she ran in Milan for almost thirty years, after the death of her father Ettore in 1982, she contributed to the reappraisal of the Italian art between the wars through her exhibitions and as an art historian, compiling catalogues on Sironi, Casorati and Martini among others. Also known as a collector herself, Claudia acquired significant works from the 20th Century, including paintings by the major names in contemporary Italian Art, such as Morandi, Fontana, De Chirico as well as pieces by emerging artists. In 1996 she founded the “Studio di consulenza per il Novecento Italiano”, a consultancy studio conceived as an exhibition space as well as a centre for documentation.
Every important art collector in Italy would at some point gravitate towards one of her venues, (her two galleries and the Studio), as all three played a key role in nourishing a circle of sophisticated art lovers who, following her advice in sourcing and lending their works of art, forged some of the most respected collections of ‘Moderno Italiano’.
The owner of the paintings displayed in the next pages, (and in a section of this week’s Impressionist and Modern Art South Kensington on 5 February), soon became one of them.
Although not every work in the collection was sourced directly through the Gian Ferrari Gallery, most of them were chosen with Claudia’s advice. The result is a group of important, historical works by some of the most renowned names of the Italian art scene between the wars: De Chirico, Morandi, Casorati and Sironi among others.
When looking at the selection of works we have from this collection this season, one easily perceives a sense of cohesion, knowledge and consistency behind each choice - the only non-Italian name included in the group being Raoul Dufy, here represented at lot 373 later in this sale, a beautiful example of one of his all-time preferred subjects, Le Havre. Almost none of the lots have ever been seen before at auction, and those that have, have not appeared on the market for over twenty years. Many of the paintings boast extensive exhibition histories, having been lent by the owner to major Italian and international museums, who would always turn to Claudia Gian Ferrari knowing they would find in her a supporter, willing to push her collectors to grant them the loan of their works of art.
Some of these museums (like Museo del Novecento and Villa Necchi Campiglio in Milan, or MAXXI and MACRO in Rome) are now proud to display many works of art once belonging to the Gian Ferrari family, who very generously donated them, in line with their nature as enlightened patrons of Italian Modern Art.
The mid-1930s are among the most stylistically fruitful periods of Giorgio Morandi’s oeuvre. In fact, some of the richest still-life compositions, and largest and most inspiring landscapes were executed between 1934 and 1936; Paesaggio is undoubtedly one of them.
With its tightly cropped orchard scene, the austere brushstrokes, and the strong contrasts of light, the present lot is also a clear example of Morandi’s admiration for Paul Cézanne and how his influence is most visible in his landscapes. The painter was familiar with many of Cézanne’s landscapes, and is said to have loved La Montagne Saint-Victorie au grand pin of 1887, which was already reproduced in books and magazines in Italy since the 1920s.
Of the several views of Grizzana Morandi painted throughout his life, Paesaggio is particularly charming for its deep palette and rich composition; it thus comes as no surprise that the painting has been requested for most of the major exhibitions consecrated to the subject of Morandi and nature, both in Italy and abroad.
The painting has never been seen at auction before, as it was purchased from the Gian Ferrari Gallery by the late owner in 1986, and has remained in the same family since.
Property from a Distinguished Italian Collection:
There is a considerable difference between a group of paintings put together as a form of investment and an art collection in its most authentic meaning. The next six lots belong to the latter: a sophisticated collection of works of art, assembled by a passionate, discerning art lover and his wife.
The late owner started collecting in the 1960s and continued through the 1990s. Some key elements were in his favour: he was gifted with strong entrepreneurial skills, elegant taste and intellectual curiosity, but he also had an excellent guide in Claudia Gian Ferrari.
Claudia Gian Ferrari (Milan, 1945-2010) was an important protagonist of the Italian art scene. In the gallery she ran in Milan for almost thirty years, after the death of her father Ettore in 1982, she contributed to the reappraisal of the Italian art between the wars through her exhibitions and as an art historian, compiling catalogues on Sironi, Casorati and Martini among others. Also known as a collector herself, Claudia acquired significant works from the 20th Century, including paintings by the major names in contemporary Italian Art, such as Morandi, Fontana, De Chirico as well as pieces by emerging artists. In 1996 she founded the “Studio di consulenza per il Novecento Italiano”, a consultancy studio conceived as an exhibition space as well as a centre for documentation.
Every important art collector in Italy would at some point gravitate towards one of her venues, (her two galleries and the Studio), as all three played a key role in nourishing a circle of sophisticated art lovers who, following her advice in sourcing and lending their works of art, forged some of the most respected collections of ‘Moderno Italiano’.
The owner of the paintings displayed in the next pages, (and in a section of this week’s Impressionist and Modern Art South Kensington on 5 February), soon became one of them.
Although not every work in the collection was sourced directly through the Gian Ferrari Gallery, most of them were chosen with Claudia’s advice. The result is a group of important, historical works by some of the most renowned names of the Italian art scene between the wars: De Chirico, Morandi, Casorati and Sironi among others.
When looking at the selection of works we have from this collection this season, one easily perceives a sense of cohesion, knowledge and consistency behind each choice - the only non-Italian name included in the group being Raoul Dufy, here represented at lot 373 later in this sale, a beautiful example of one of his all-time preferred subjects, Le Havre. Almost none of the lots have ever been seen before at auction, and those that have, have not appeared on the market for over twenty years. Many of the paintings boast extensive exhibition histories, having been lent by the owner to major Italian and international museums, who would always turn to Claudia Gian Ferrari knowing they would find in her a supporter, willing to push her collectors to grant them the loan of their works of art.
Some of these museums (like Museo del Novecento and Villa Necchi Campiglio in Milan, or MAXXI and MACRO in Rome) are now proud to display many works of art once belonging to the Gian Ferrari family, who very generously donated them, in line with their nature as enlightened patrons of Italian Modern Art.