As usual when I make one of my periodic “raids” on London, I checked out the Estorick Collection. This is not one of the best-known galleries in the capital, but I have developed an attachment to it. Its special interest is Italian modern art, in which regular readers of this blog will know I have a particular interest. I have come to expect that this is something of a niche subject, and although it has never in the past been the case that I have had the Estorick to myself, it has been pretty quiet, and not unusual for me at least to have one of the rooms to myself. Imagine my surprise on Thursday, however, when I rolled up at the gallery at opening time to find a queue waiting to get in! Yes: a queue at the Estorick! I was not the only person to be surprised, as I discovered when I was checking in, and realised that there was almost a feeling on the part of the staff that they were under siege. What on earth was going on?
The attraction was an exhibition of the work of Giorgio Morandi. He is very well represented at the Estorick, and they can put on an entire room of his work from their own collection. I had no idea, however, that over time he has become such a widely-respected figure. I suppose that I ought to have picked up a clue about this when I discovered that the administrator at the Ilkley Art School (which I attend for life-drawing classes) is a fan of Morandi. This particular show featured the Morandi holdings from a large Italian collection, and consequently included material which is never normally available in this country. Even so, the extent to which the occasion was being treated as a major attraction did take me by surprise.
The visit was worthwhile if for no other reason than to see a self-portrait by Morandi. It portrayed him with exactly the same tranquility and feeling of self-sufficiency that one associates with his bottles and jugs. I came away from the visit with the feeling that if ever you are looking for an artistic embodiment of mindfulness, then Morandi is the man to whom you should turn.