Candlestick c. 1938

Charles Caseau made this drawing of a candlestick, we don't know when, with what looks like graphite or maybe charcoal on paper. It's all about process, right? The drawing is so delicate, all these subtle gradations of tone, describing the form, that it’s almost like he’s sculpting with light. You can see the hand of the artist in the soft shading, and the way he’s built up the form, bit by bit. Look at the base of the candlestick, these repeating curves meeting the square plinth. The light catches them just so, and they repeat upward in slightly different forms, building to the bowl at the top. It reminds me a bit of Giorgio Morandi, all those quiet, contemplative still lifes. But where Morandi is all about colour and texture, Caseau is interested in the play of light and shadow on a simple object. And you know, it's in that simplicity that the drawing finds its power.