Nothing is more abstract than reality.

Giorgio Morandi once said "Nothing is more abstract than reality". The Italian painter and printmaker was specialising in paintings of simple still life subjects, such as vases, bottles, bowls and flowers. And also landscapes. His styles were subtlely tonal, low hued and muted.

We can also analyse Morandi's work through different aspects such as objects, colours, forms and compositions.

Objects - Morandi's subject matter gravitated towards everyday objects that could be found in any kitchen - such as jars, ceramic bowls and vases, bottles, pitchers, jugs and boxes. These objects are familiar, yet they are purposely stripped of any identifying marks such as labels. This lends the objects a sense of anonymity and universality - these objects could easily come from anyone's kitchen. They could even be found on the shelves of your own cupboard.

The objects are placed on a nondescript tabletop, grouped together in various arrangements. The key factor is that these domestic objects are utterly unremarkable. They are not loud and ostentious. They do not demand our attention. These are not the objects of the rich and famous. Instead, they are silently humble. They represent a reality that is not dressed to impress. By focusing on objects that are commonplace, he shines a light on the functional objects we use everyday that are often overlooked and taken for granted.

Still life - Giorgio Morandi

Colours - Morandi uses a muted color palette for his still life paintings, often working in a range of whites and greys, occasionally foraying into other equally somber colors. His deliberate use of pale color creates inward-looking paintings that are sensitive to the objects portrayed.

Giorgio Morandi's still life paintings employ a careful balance of subdued colors and subtle tones. He stylistically works in a limited tonal range. Tone refers to how light or dark a colour is. Therefore, a light tone can be used to indicate a highlight, and a dark tone can indicate a shadow. In the below painting, notice how the objects almost appear flat, because of their lack of a wide tonal range. The white vases only carry a slight hint of grey at the sides, demarking 3-dimensionality.

Still life - Giorgio Morandi

Composition - Although the composition of Giorgio Morandi's still life paintings look deceptively simple, he would spend weeks obsessively shuffling the objects around to get just the right placement. He would experiment with different combinations of objects overlapping and placed next to each other in a variety of ways, looking for the right medley of forms.

The perspective of his still life paintings is always looking straight on at them, or looking down at them. There is a certain mysterious ambiguity to the location of Morandi's still life set-ups. Because it's impossible to pinpoint a specific location or identify the owners of the objects, the paintings enjoy an anonymous, silent quality.