Toy Boy and Goat c. 1937

Harry Grossen made this watercolor of a figurine, titled 'Toy Boy and Goat', sometime in the 20th century. It's interesting to see the ways he’s chosen to lay down each wash, especially how the colours blend and bleed into each other. It feels honest and open, like a glimpse into the process of his looking. The colours are so muted. I mean, look at that grey-goat, and that washed-out lavender robe the boy is wearing. Grossen isn't trying to trick us into thinking this is real, or to create an illusion. The colours and lines are all so present, so aware of their status as material. You can imagine him mixing each colour on a palette, trying it out on the page, adding water, testing, building up the image step-by-step. That heavy-looking book that it is all sitting on is pretty amazing, like a blocky painting by Morandi. And the way that the edge is visible behind the green base of the sculpture makes the whole image even more dynamic. I wonder if he knew the work of Giorgio Morandi? Either way, this is a painting about painting!