Pitcher c. 1936

John Tarantino made this watercolor titled "Pitcher," and it’s a trip! The fluid washes and delicate lines make me think of a drawing you might find in a science textbook, or a botanical study. Imagine Tarantino hunched over his paper, mixing shades of blacks and grays, maybe even adding a touch of blue to get that glassy sheen just right. I bet he was really trying to understand how light plays on the curves of the pitcher, how the reflections create those swirling patterns. See how the paint is thin and translucent in some areas, and then thicker, more opaque in others? Those horizontal lines make me think about how the artist might have been turning the pitcher around and around, searching for the most interesting angles. This piece seems to be a quiet conversation between an artist and an object. It feels like a study, maybe an experiment in perception, but it’s also so beautiful. Artists are always talking to each other, across time, you know?