Plate c. 1936

Erwin Schwabe made this drawing of a plate, we don’t know exactly when, and it’s fascinating because it’s so simple. It looks like Schwabe was really thinking about the process of image making. I love how the blue paint is applied; it’s almost like a kind of shorthand. The way the artist has created the impression of depth and form with just a few quick strokes of blue paint really does it for me! You can see the texture of the paper coming through in places, which gives it a kind of raw, immediate feel. Look at the rim of the plate with its loose, gestural marks that create the scalloped edge and decorative motifs. It’s like Schwabe is saying, "Here’s a plate, but it’s also just paint on paper." It reminds me a little of some of Giorgio Morandi's still life paintings, in the way it elevates the mundane to something almost spiritual through careful observation and simple execution. It’s this tension between representation and abstraction that makes it so compelling.