Pitcher 1935 - 1942

Janet Riza made this drawing of a pitcher, in a soft palette of grays, some time in the 20th century. It’s a gentle take on the still life genre. The pitcher is rendered with an almost ghostly quality, thanks to the watercolor medium and the limited range of tones. What is so captivating is the way Riza approaches the form: the slightly blurred edges and subtle gradations of colour give it an ethereal quality. It’s almost as if she's trying to capture the essence of the object rather than its precise appearance. Notice how the reflected light along the rim softens the hard edge where the object meets the background. This piece reminds me of the early still lifes of Giorgio Morandi, where everyday objects are transformed into contemplative subjects through the artist’s focused attention and subdued palette. Like Morandi, Riza finds beauty in simplicity, inviting us to pause and consider the quiet elegance of the commonplace. It’s a reminder that art isn’t always about grand gestures; sometimes, it's about finding poetry in the everyday.