Shaving Mug c. 1941

Nicholas Amantea made this drawing of a shaving mug sometime in the middle of the 20th century. It looks like he used watercolour and graphite, with a bit of paper texture coming through underneath. I can really imagine Amantea creating this piece: the careful looking involved in trying to capture the precise tone and the texture of this old shaving mug. You can see that he noticed how light plays on the metal surface, creating a kind of shimmery effect. It is really beautiful. There's a tension here, too, between precision and looseness. Look at the handle, for example. It seems slightly wonky, not quite symmetrical. And the brush hairs are coming loose. I imagine that’s how it was in real life and I like the slight imperfection. In fact, it makes this picture more engaging! It reminds me a bit of Giorgio Morandi’s still-life paintings, where everyday objects become monumental through careful attention and subtle variations of tone and form. It's funny how artists respond to one another across time!