Plate c. 1939

Giacinto Capelli made this painting of a plate, we don't know when or with what. But, looking at the watercolor washes, I think he was interested in process as much as product. The color is earthy, grounded, the brown modulated so that the dish seems to glow from within. A sort of faux-naïve rendering gives it a charming awkwardness. The top-down view flattened against the side view gives the piece a dreamlike quality, like a memory of a real dish. Look at how the yellow paint creates a pattern on the inside of the plate. The bird-like form is a little clumsy, and the surrounding marks are applied quickly. I wonder, was it painted from life or memory? This piece reminds me of Cy Twombly's paintings. Both artists share a love of the imperfect, the handmade, and the beauty of the everyday. Art should embrace ambiguity, allowing for multiple interpretations rather than fixed meanings.