Candlestick c. 1937

This 'Candlestick' drawing, created by Albert Camilli, features some delicate graphite and colour pencil work. There's a real sense of process in those gradual tonal shifts. The piece is all about surface, the way it catches the light, the subtle gradations from one shade to the next, but I'm equally drawn to the graphic quality, the thin line around the piece that contains it. Camilli has expertly captured the sheen of the metal, its patina and the way light traces across its surface, but it's more than just photorealism, there's a personal quality here, maybe of touch, maybe of perception. It reminds me a little of Giorgio Morandi, who also elevated the mundane to the level of fine art, but perhaps without the sense of poetry. Ultimately, this is a piece about seeing, about really looking, and about the ongoing conversation that all art is a part of.