Silver Goblet c. 1939

Rose Campbell-Gerke made this silvery goblet with pencil and watercolor on paper. I can imagine her, perhaps a student, carefully rendering the shape, squinting to capture how light reflects on the metal's surface. The goblet is delicately formed, the neutral grays and whites giving the vessel a luminous presence. What was Campbell-Gerke thinking as she worked? Was she focused on mastering the technical skill of representation or was she contemplating the goblet’s symbolic meaning? Is it an everyday drinking vessel, or something more sacred, like a chalice? I'm curious about the interplay between observation and interpretation in her creative process. It reminds me of Giorgio Morandi’s still life paintings of bottles and bowls. Both artists share a similar interest in the poetics of the everyday. There's a quietness to this goblet, a contemplative mood. Painting offers a chance to slow down, to really see, and to engage in a silent dialogue with the world around us.