Wine Glass c. 1936

This drawing of a wine glass was made by Albert Eyth, sometime between 1855 and 1995, using graphite and watercolor. Look at those marks, so delicate, building up the form, piece by piece! I imagine Eyth sitting and looking, really looking, at the glass, trying to figure out how to capture the light as it travels through the object. It must have been a slow and methodical process. You can see Eyth’s planning in the additional drawing of the base - the cross hairs like a map, guiding him. I love the slightly off-kilter symmetry, the imperfections that give it life. It reminds me of the drawings of Josef Albers, so precise and yet, so human. It's like he's not just showing us the glass, but also how he sees the glass, how he understands its geometry. It is a way of seeing and experiencing the world.