Lily stem 

Curator: Standing before us is a pencil drawing by Peter Becker entitled “Lily stem,” currently residing here at the Städel Museum. Editor: It has the delicate, fragile air of something caught fleetingly—like a botanical memory pressed between the pages of a book. The wispy lines make it feel quite tentative. Curator: Indeed, it’s all rendered in subtle pencil strokes on paper. Becker seems to have used the pencil almost as a capturing tool. The emphasis on process is apparent here—it highlights the transition between observation and mark-making, as he captures the play of light and shadow. Editor: I’m intrigued by that you can feel it. Becker doesn’t conceal the labour. You see all of his ghost lines; I wonder if it was the cheapest material available? Curator: You might be right to suppose on economics - it's not so common for fine arts on the mid-late 20th century. Maybe the social setting drove the need to innovate on the usage of raw material. And from the look of it, this paper bears some stories of its own with those slight marks around its surface, which contribute so beautifully to its gentle fragility. Editor: It reminds me that even the most apparently simple of drawings involves decisions about paper, tools and time—the very real expenditure involved. And speaking about marks, I see some sort of annotation up there; almost a filing label. Do you suppose Becker might have kept lots of similar records, an archive of botanical subjects perhaps? Curator: It’s entirely possible, that little circled number definitely speaks to a system, a categorization. One might imagine Becker finding solace and purpose in carefully recording the subtle beauty of nature, making order for it on the page... it is somewhat dream-like. I keep thinking that the choice of the lily here is on purpose. The flower carries strong symbolical significance and an entire history by its side. Editor: Very true - there are many different artistic implications related to the Lilly across multiple cultures, starting at Antiquity itself. Looking at the work under that perspective gives the overall peace a strong edge of curiosity about Becker himself, don't you think? Curator: Yes, in the end, that´s what´s captivating. The Lily stem allows us to witness something beautiful about observation, materiality, and a delicate, private exchange that transcends Becker himself.