Highboy 1935 - 1942

This is a technical drawing of a Highboy, we don’t know who made it or when, but it’s been made with ink on paper. I love the careful articulation of detail, the way the flourishes of the legs are rendered in continuous lines, giving us an insight into the mindset of the maker, as if they are literally drawing their own understanding into the piece. The attention to detail in the panels - which have been meticulously measured and scaled - suggests that the artist is working to a brief, or has an interest in the mathematical element of design. But it's the asymmetrical nature of the legs that is most striking: they seem to dance in their imperfections, as if the furniture had a life of its own. This makes me think of the drawings of Gustav Klimt, which combine the formal with the fantastical to create art that celebrates the emotional, physical, and metaphysical experiences of life. There’s no correct way to read a drawing like this: our minds always prefer ambiguity to certainty.