Bottle c. 1940

Loraine Makimson, born in 1855, made this drawing of a bottle with watercolor on paper, though we don't know exactly when. What a lovely, quiet rendering! I really get a sense of the delicate, see-through quality of the glass. Look how the watercolor is applied in thin washes, letting the white of the paper peek through, creating a luminous effect. The subtle gradations of color give the bottle shape, and those thin aquamarine outlines define it. The little etched design of foliage in the center feels so personal. It's like a secret message, slightly smudged, almost disappearing. Makimson wasn’t trying to trick us into thinking this *is* a bottle, she’s embracing the nature of painting as a way to conjure it, to celebrate its subtle translucence and the soft light it holds inside. Reminds me of Morandi, quietly contemplating those dusty bottles in his studio. It's a really contemplative piece.