Bottle 1935 - 1942

Van Silvay made this drawing of a bottle in subdued greys and browns, smudging the graphite to create areas of shadow and light. I'm picturing Van, in his studio, really looking, and working out how to depict this ornate vessel. The medium looks like watercolour with perhaps some pencil, it's all very delicate. The bottle is drawn with such care and attention that it could almost be a portrait. I love the way that the linear structure of the drawing contains so much volume. I particularly like the way the top of the bottle has been drawn. The artist is creating a wonderful silhouette of a bird or serpent, hovering above the body. It makes me think about other artists, like Giorgio Morandi, who spent their lives trying to get to the bottom of what a bottle really is. They were all in conversation, across time, searching for form and substance, in the humblest of objects.