In Morandi’s paintings, the lines which stand out from the lightness of the objects seem to not only serve as a outline to emphasise the shape but also creates depth. He uses soft edges with subtle greys to hint at curves and when he partners that with the shadows it creates a soft gradation of colours to create shape, depth and perspectives. What was interesting to me was that object in the forefront were painted with darker, more obvious outlines while the objects behind them had softer lines on the edges and this is very reminiscent of the Linear perspectives used during the Renaissance. Another interesting thing I noticed was that the usage of lines also creates visual repetition and seems to create a sense of claustrophobia when the lines between the objects become one. In this case the thickness of the line affects the amount of visual space created between the objects and the darker/thicker the lines are, the closer the objects are to one another.
Giorgio Morandi, Still Life, 1951, Oil on canvas, 28,4 x 48,9 cm, Hirshorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington
The sense of depth can be seen through the lines segregating the table top from the wall at the back. Not only do the lines suggest the amount of empty spaces on the table top, they also separate colours of the various objects painted, acting almost as a shadow and shape.
All That Life Contains, Contained, Still Life, 1941, Oil on canvas, Met
This is cute. The lines also act as shadows in this painting and I found it interesting how the objects at the back had more faded lines which kind of mimicked brunelleschi’s linear perspective.
Giorgio Morandi, Still Life, 1948/ 1949, Oil on linen, 26 x 35 cm, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid
In this painting the lines to me seemed to serve more as to define the objects in the forefront from the objects at the back. Creating a separation from the dark objects and the light.
HI Leon, Yes in #1 It seems like the striped lines are pushing against both sides of itself~~ Creating a tension.
#3 The cream colored background surrounding the top of that skinny vase seem to be solid or are they air?
Nice evaluations…
(When you end your post set one image as an image that will be seen in that post. there is a button for that) Then your post won’t be just a text
Oh yes I didn’t notice that for #3! But there seems to be a hint of a shadow to the left of the darkest object on the right or maybe it could be another object. I realised not adding obvious shadows behind the objects actually creates an infinite almost surreal space which is quite interesting.