Giorgio Morandi (1890 – 1964) is widely acknowledged as one of the most celebrated and influential artists of the 20th century. Born in Bologna, he developed a highly distinctive style of still life painting in which everyday objects – bottles, tins, jugs – were grouped together, then reduced to their essential forms. Using a controlled and muted colour palette, Morandi transformed these objects into something both mediative and poetic, sitting between naturalism and abstraction.

Still Life with Bottles has been on long term loan to Amgueddfa Cymru since 1971. Now, through HM Government Acceptance in Lieu of Inheritance tax scheme and supported by major grants from the Derek Williams Trust and Art Fund, the museum has been able to acquire this important work, one of only nine oil paintings by Morandi in public collections in the UK and the only one in Wales. Dating from 1942, it is also the earliest example of the artist’s still life in oil in any of these collections.

The work is currently on display at National Museum Cardiff alongside Morandi’s 1927 etching, Still Life with Drapery to the Left, which was purchased by the Derek Williams Trust in 2017 and is on long term loan to Amgueddfa Cymru. Also on display are two other major still lifes in Amgueddfa Cymru’s collection: Picasso’s Still Life with Poron (1948) and Still Life with Teapot (1906) by Paul Cézanne.

Image © the artist’s estate / DACS 2025