Cuff Buttons 1935 - 1942

Frank Fumagalli made this drawing of cuff buttons, with an intricate Greek key design, at an unknown date. The amber and gold tones suggest warmth and luxury, but it's the mark-making that really grabs me. Look at the way Fumagalli layers the washes of color, building up depth and luminosity. You can almost feel the smoothness of the amber against your skin. And the little initial P adds a personal touch, like a secret message. The way the artist renders the reflective qualities of the material, using delicate strokes and subtle gradations of tone, really creates the illusion of depth and texture. This piece reminds me a little of the precision and detail of some of the botanical illustrations by Maria Merian, though with a more modern, graphic sensibility. It feels like a blueprint, a design, but also a meditation on the beauty of simple, everyday objects.