Still Life with El Greco Painting is an oil painting by Italian artist Filippo De Pisis, executed in 1926. The work exemplifies De Pisis’s characteristic approach to still life, a genre for which he earned particular recognition during his career.
De Pisis was known for arranging objects with unexpected juxtapositions of scale and spatial relationships, creating compositions that possess an airy, immediate quality. His still lifes often featured flowers and everyday objects, though this work incorporates a reference to El Greco—a deliberate artistic allusion that places the painting within a dialogue about art history and representation. The composition reflects De Pisis’s broader artistic practice, which blended modernist sensibility with an emotional, sometimes melancholic temperament.
About Filippo De Pisis
Filippo De Pisis (1896–1956) was an Italian painter and poet born in Ferrara. He studied at the University of Bologna before moving to Rome in 1919 to pursue painting. De Pisis spent much of his life traveling between Rome, Paris, and Venice, establishing himself as a distinctive voice in early twentieth-century Italian modernism. His work encompassed cityscapes, maritime scenes inspired by metaphysical painting, and extensive still-life compositions.
Details
- Artist: Filippo De Pisis (1896–1956)
- Year: 1926
- Genre: Still life
- Medium: Oil on canvas
Frequently asked questions
Who was Filippo De Pisis?
Filippo De Pisis was an Italian painter and poet born in Ferrara in 1896. He is best known for his still lifes, cityscapes, and metaphysically-inspired maritime scenes, characterized by unexpected spatial relationships and an airy, emotional quality.
What is significant about the El Greco reference?
The inclusion of an El Greco painting within the composition demonstrates De Pisis’s engagement with art history and his practice of creating juxtapositions within his still-life arrangements, placing modern objects in dialogue with Old Master traditions.
Where did De Pisis spend his career?
De Pisis lived and worked primarily in Rome, Paris, and Venice, spending his life moving between these major artistic centers of twentieth-century Europe.