Dagger and Sheath 1935 - 1942

Cornelius Christoffels's, Dagger and Sheath is a small watercolour that is big on detail. I'm thinking about the patient, careful hand of the artist building up the image, stroke by stroke. I imagine Christoffels hunched over the paper, squinting, trying to capture the sheen of the blade, the texture of the handle, the delicate ornamentation on the sheath. Did he have the actual objects in front of him, or was he working from memory? The brown hues of the sheath are offset by the delicate silvery embellishments. The way the light catches the metal. Then there's the blade itself – so cold and sharp! I'm drawn to the contrast between the weapon's lethal potential and the artist's gentle touch. It makes me think about the endless dance between intention and execution, between thought and action. Artists are always learning from each other, across time and space. Each brushstroke, a conversation.