After the retrospective at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, which registered 166,050 visitors, Giorgio Morandi (1890–1964) is probably the second most renowned Italian artist of the twentieth century after Lucio Fontana. The success of the exhibition, held from 16 September to 14 December last year, is now continuing at the MAMbo in Bologna until 13 April, again in collaboration with the Met. In New York, the retrospective of the master of still life was warmly received by critics and the public from the very first days; yet Morandi has long been well known among scholars, who early on exhibited him in the most important American museums.
After showing in 1914 at the Hotel Baglioni —an exhibition that sparked his relationship with the Futurist group — and at the Galleria Sprovieri in Rome, the artist took part in the second Roman Secession exhibition. His research, however, always progressed on an international scale: after exploring metaphysical painting in 1918, he moved in the second half of 1919 towards the “Valori Plastici” group and regained the physicality of objects. In 1921 he exhibited in Berlin, Dresden, Hanover and Munich, and the following year at the “Fiorentina Primaverile,” where Giorgio de Chirico introduced his work, suggesting the phrase “a metaphysics of everyday things.”
In 1930 he was awarded, for distinguished merit, the chair of Printmaking Techniques at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Bologna, and took part in the Venice Biennale with four etchings and a portfolio of prints. He returned to Venice two years later with a “Portrait,” two Still Lifes and various graphic works. From then on, his research became deeply poetic, characterised by evocative power.
“Morandi knew the world despite living almost always in Bologna,” explains Franco Calarota of the Galleria d'Arte Maggiore in Bologna. “His was a continuous pursuit; rigour emerges through light and shadow, through his choice of colours, and through the way representation of reality becomes superfluous. He is one of the artists most appreciated by Eastern collectors: in Japan he is greatly loved, and in America he has appeared in collections since the 1930s.”
In Italy he soon entered the Mattioli, Jucker, Giovanardi and Jesi collections, and abroad the Estorick and Plaza collections. But how does the market for this Italian master behave?
In 1930 he was awarded, for distinguished merit, the chair of Printmaking Techniques at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Bologna, and took part in the Venice Biennale with four etchings and a portfolio of prints. He returned to Venice two years later with a “Portrait,” two Still Lifes and various graphic works. From then on, his research became deeply poetic, characterised by evocative power.
“Morandi knew the world despite living almost always in Bologna,” explains Franco Calarota of the Galleria d'Arte Maggiore in Bologna. “His was a continuous pursuit; rigour emerges through light and shadow, through his choice of colours, and through the way representation of reality becomes superfluous. He is one of the artists most appreciated by Eastern collectors: in Japan he is greatly loved, and in America he has appeared in collections since the 1930s.”
In Italy he soon entered the Mattioli, Jucker, Giovanardi and Jesi collections, and abroad the Estorick and Plaza collections. But how does the market for this Italian master behave?
The latest price achieved in Italy — by Farsetti, for a 1956 Still Life (30.5 × 25.5 cm)—reached €310,000 last November. His top lot is a 1943 Natura Morta (oil, 28.5 × 45.5 cm), sold for €940,000 (hammer price, excluding buyer’s premium) by Christie’s Milan in 2007. In Italy, according to ArsValue, the average auction price for oils is around €295,000, for drawings over €9,700, and for etchings more than €15,200. From 1995 to today, the total value exchanged has been €38,866,027 for 793 works sold, with a sell-through rate of 78%. The average annual return according to the UPB–ArsValue index from 1995 to today is 3.46%.
In London the artist reaches record heights of £1,200,000 for a 1920 Natura Morta (Christie’s 2007, hammer price). The international trading volume analysed by Artprice—already very high in 1997 (€11.7 million for 11 lots with 6.9% unsold)—declined for a period but regained strength in 2007 with almost €11.2 million for 62 works (37.78% unsold). Last year it settled at €8.4 million for 42 works (22.8% unsold).
“Morandi has a very broad market,” confirms the gallerist. “The earliest works—the metaphysical ones from Ferrara (1913–15) and the Valori Plastici period up to 1919—are rare, because they are now in museums and major collections, and no longer come to market. Naturally, the choice of work depends on taste: complexity and completeness of the compositions, a certain number of objects, the play of light and shadow, and colour make a difference. The most important works valued by the market are those from the 1930s to the late 1950s. But the work of the late Morandi has not yet been properly valued and, I believe, will become a revelation,” anticipates the dealer. It is as though scholars stopped studying him because he is now “certified.”
The Galleria d’Arte Maggiore is presenting a stand entirely dedicated to Morandi at the Permanente in Milan, with more than ten canvases and a very refined exhibition layout. And the prices? For the Natura Morta (1948) (oil on canvas, 36 × 36 cm) the range lies between €900,000 and €1.2 million. All exhibited works are published in the catalogue raisonnés. “There is no confusion about Morandi, his work has been managed rigorously: the Museo Morandi exists in Bologna, and during his lifetime Lamberto Vitali was his guardian figure.” Calarota concludes.
HIGHLY LOVED IN JAPAN.
The metaphysical and Valori Plastici oils are extremely rare; works from the 1930s–1950s circulate on the market. Record: £1.2 million for a 1920 Natura Morta.
The metaphysical and Valori Plastici oils are extremely rare; works from the 1930s–1950s circulate on the market. Record: £1.2 million for a 1920 Natura Morta.
