Bottle c. 1937

Nicholas Amantea made this drawing of a bottle sometime in the twentieth century. Look closely, and you can see the artist was really thinking about how light falls on a simple object. I love how the bottle almost disappears into the background. Amantea has used really subtle shades of brown to build up the form. It’s like he’s coaxing the bottle into existence, one tiny mark at a time. Notice how the base of the bottle is darker, thicker. It grounds the whole image, while the neck almost dissolves. It’s such a delicate, almost hesitant touch, but confident too. Amantea’s bottle reminds me of Giorgio Morandi’s still lifes. Both artists find something profound in the everyday. They remind us that art isn’t always about grand gestures, sometimes, it's about paying attention. And that’s a lesson worth learning, right?