Silver Communion Cup 1935 - 1942

Aaron Fastovsky made this drawing of a silver communion cup with graphite on paper. I love the way that the cup glows. It’s the kind of drawing that makes you realize the beauty of everyday objects. I can almost imagine him, carefully observing the way light plays on the surface of the silver, trying to capture its smooth, reflective quality with his pencil. There's a real softness to the shading that gives the cup a subtle, almost ethereal presence. It reminds me a little of the drawings of Giorgio Morandi, but there is something about this communion cup that feels particularly American. The drawing is not particularly fussy, in fact it's wonderfully utilitarian. It’s like Fastovsky is saying: Look, even something as simple as a cup can be beautiful.