Bandbox 1935 - 1942

This small gouache painting shows a bandbox and its lid, probably made by an anonymous artist, and rendered in a flat illustrative style. The colors are mostly pastel blues and greens with some muted yellows and whites. I imagine the artist carefully planning the compositions that decorate the box, and lid, applying the paint in thin washes to slowly build up the forms. There's a certain charming naivete in the rendering, especially the whimsical patterns of flowers and leaves that adorn the bandbox. It reminds me a bit of the work of Henri Rousseau or even some early American folk art. What were they thinking as they painted? Were they carefully copying designs they had seen elsewhere, or improvising as they went along? Ultimately, this little painting speaks to the ongoing human impulse to create and decorate. Each artist is inspired by something that has come before, and they carry on a visual conversation across time. We learn from one another and pass along our ideas. Each brushstroke is a testament to the enduring power of art to connect us across time and space, opening new ways of seeing, thinking, and feeling the world.