Salt Cellar c. 1940

John Tarantino made this drawing of a salt cellar, likely sometime in the 20th century, using graphite and watercolor. The commitment to a single hue is interesting, isn't it? Like a study in blue... or, maybe, a deep dive into what blue can do. I love how the artist is playing with texture here, especially the way he suggests the dimensionality of the glass. There's a square detail above, and looking at that, you can really see the meticulousness, the hatched lines building up a sense of volume. It's a patient, almost meditative process, and you feel that in the final image. Think about the physical act of making all those tiny marks. That repeated gesture, that building up of tone, it’s almost like he’s trying to capture the essence of this object, not just its appearance. It reminds me a little of some of Josef Albers' color studies, that same dedication to exploring the possibilities within a limited framework. Anyway, it's a conversation, right? Artists talking to each other across time, through their work.