Silver Teapot 1935 - 1942

Francis Law Durand made this drawing of a silver teapot with pencil on paper. It's about process, you can see how the pencil shading builds up, layer upon layer, to create the illusion of volume and light reflecting off of the metal. Look closely, and you can see the texture of the paper coming through, which contrasts with the smooth, polished surface of the teapot that he's trying to capture. The subtleness of the mark-making in the main drawing is really set off by the smaller, diagrammatic studies of the spout, handle, and lid. Those are more technical, they're more about conveying information, while the drawing of the pot is much more about feeling. This makes me think of the work of Giorgio Morandi, who spent his life painting the same bottles and jars over and over. Like Morandi, Durand finds something profound in the mundane, turning a simple object into a meditation on light, form, and seeing. Art isn't about answers, it's about embracing questions.