Candlestick c. 1940

Janet Riza made this small painting of a candlestick, we don't know exactly when, but the handmade quality gives it a timeless feel. There's such a soft, almost wet look to the paint, it's so controlled, but it still looks like the paint is moving. It's quite a reductive palette, isn't it? Various shades of brown, almost monochrome, but within that, the artist finds a surprising range of tones, from deep shadows to bright highlights. The paint is applied thinly, allowing the paper to breathe, except where it pools slightly, creating these delicate tonal shifts. If you look closely, you can see how Riza uses subtle gradations and reflected light to give the form a sense of weight and volume. It’s like she's chasing the perfect curve, the ideal form, with each careful stroke. It reminds me of the still lifes of Giorgio Morandi, who used a similar palette and soft gradations to evoke a feeling of quiet contemplation, as if capturing the essence of the everyday. In art, just like life, it's often the simplest things that hold the greatest beauty.