Natura Morta

Giorgio Morandi

Morandi was unassuming, in life and in art. Born in Bologna, he lived on the same street, in a modest apartment with his three sisters, from the age of 19 until his death at 73, and rarely left the city. As a young man he experimented with the vogues of the day, but quickly settled into his signature style. Quiet, contemplative, subtle, his still life compositions are experiments in hue and form, as much precursors to the minimalist movement as they are informed by the Italian Old Masters he studied in art school. “I’m a painter”, he said, “of the kind of... composition that communicates a sense of tranquility and privacy, moods which I have always valued above all’.

Friday 21st August

The Moon rises in the constellation of Scorpio, bringing with it the watery influence of this sign. Across many parts of the world there will be hope for rain, as fields, gardens and crops continue to suffer under periods of intense heat and dry weather. With Saturn, Jupiter and Neptune also carrying strong relationships to the water element, we might look towards these watery influences as a counterbalance to the Sun’s presence in fiery Leo, and hope that some much-needed rain finds its way to the earth. A healthy garden needs this ebb and flow between the elements: warmth followed by moisture, expansion followed by contraction, sunlight balanced by water. Too much of one force can become exhausting, while their meeting and interplay creates the conditions through which life can continually renew itself.