Sauce Dish c. 1938

Isidore Steinberg made this “Sauce Dish” sometime in the 20th century. I can see the process of Steinberg’s mark making in the many lines he uses to suggest the form of the glass dish. There’s something about the translucent quality of the piece that’s so beautiful. The way the light seems to pass right through it, giving it an ethereal, almost dreamlike quality. The lines that give the dish form are both definite, in creating the shape, but also delicate, in the thinness of the marks. It’s like he’s captured a fleeting moment. Look at the bottom of the dish, at the clustered marks. They don’t quite make a recognizable form, but they give a sense of depth and movement. For me, this piece has a kinship with the drawings of Giorgio Morandi, who took the same care and attention in depicting bottles and jars as more artists would give to depicting a figure, or an event. Ultimately, it’s a deceptively simple piece that invites us to slow down and appreciate the beauty in the everyday.