Piano Forte c. 1936

Ferdinand Cartier made this drawing of a Piano Forte, we don't know when or with what, but it's the kind of image you might come across in a design studio, a record of craft. Look at how the wood grain is rendered, almost marbled, in swirling browns; Cartier makes the most of this effect, echoing it in the spiralling forms of the legs. It's all about process, about teasing out these effects from the materials at hand. The image is like a set of variations on a theme. I love the crispness of the piano keys. Each one is delicately drawn in a contrasting black and white, it is as though it is music rendered in visual form. The way the light catches on the edges gives the piece an almost uncanny feel. It reminds me of Charles Sheeler, who also had a clear-eyed passion for the way things are made. Art's a conversation, right? It keeps going and going.