Watchman's Rattle c. 1939

E.J. Gilsleider made this 'Watchman's Rattle' as a straightforward rendering, a kind of study of the object. The pale background is scrubbed in with very loose strokes, which gives a nice contrast to the detailed rendering of the wooden rattle. I love the simplicity of this, the brown and tan tones, and the apparent lack of flourish in the subject. The artist, I think, is really just trying to understand the watchman's rattle, the way light reflects off it, the way it casts shadows on itself. Look at the precision of the carved wood, and the detail in the tonal variation. This reminds me of a Morandi, or even some of the Shaker artists, who imbued everyday objects with a kind of sacred geometry. Artists like Gilsleider find beauty in the mundane, and, as with all art, the final meaning lies not with the creator, but with us.