Painter and printmaker Giorgio Morandi established his eminent reputation on subtle, tonal still lifes of everyday household objects. Deliberately painting the unremarkable, such as bottles, nondescript vases, and small pots, Morandi centered his practice on intense concentration and compositional balance. “I am essentially a painter of the kind of still life composition that communicates a sense of tranquility and privacy, moods which I have always valued above all else,” he once said. Before defining his signature style, Morandi drew heavily from Carlo Carrà and Pittura Metafisica.