ALBERTO MORROCCO R.S.A., R.S.W., R.P., R.G.I., L.L.D. (SCOTTISH 1917-1999) §
STILL LIFE BY AN OPEN WINDOW
£25,000
Scottish Paintings & Sculpture
Auction: Evening Sale: 09 December 2021 | From 18:00
Description
Signed and dated '87, oil on canvas
Dimensions
127cm x 101.5cm (50in x 40in)
Footnote
Note: ‘I like painting the good things in life, things I like and enjoy.’
‘Still Life by an Open Window’ is quintessentially Alberto Morrocco. Despite spending his life in birthplace of Scotland, his Italian roots shone through in his painting. Here he combines his love of still life with another favoured subject, Mediterranean landscape. The vibrant, eclectic still-life arrangement on the tabletop is housed in a shady room that we see unfold through open shutters to the hot, bright sunshine beyond. Our attention is captured and drawn centrally outwards, until the last moment when we finally spot the black cat peering back at us in the bottom right corner.
Morrocco was joyful and exuberant in all aspects of his life and work, while continuing to take the business of painting and teaching very seriously. One story tells of his teaching staff at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art all being invited into one of the college rooms to find a large buffet spread awaiting them, as Morrocco requested they join him in celebrating Leonardo Da Vinci’s birthday. Artistically, he believed strongly in preparatory drawing and structured composition as the basis on which to joyfully explore bright, vibrant, saturated colour. In still life’s the arrangement, often selected from the treasure trove of objects he had amassed at home, allowed for a freedom to explore relationships of shape, form and colour within a formal framework. In viewing this work, we are transported to a joyful, sunny place, full of the joys of a life well-lived and we can take the same pleasure in contemplating the work as the artist obviously took in creating it.