Hand Glass c. 1936

Edith Magnette’s ‘Hand Glass’ seems to float in a dreamlike space, rendered with what looks like graphite and colored pencil on paper. Look at how Magnette approaches the objects. There’s a dedication to observation, but also a real freedom in the interpretation. The rendering is so thoughtful. The wood grain is implied with tender strokes of reddish brown, and the mirror itself is a soft, smoky grey gradient. It is so subtle! What does it mean to represent a mirror with a gradient? I love the way that the reflections of the mirror take on the feeling of the artist's room. It feels very connected to other kinds of surrealist still life: Giorgio Morandi comes to mind, or maybe even Agnes Martin, in the focus on line and geometry. And yet Magnette’s work has an intimacy that is really special. There’s no way to pin down exactly what it’s about, and that’s what makes it so engaging.