Candle Mold c. 1939

Walter Hochstrasser’s ‘Candle Mold’ renders its subject in watercolor with a soft, earthy palette, where browns and tans meet on a creamy, dreamy background. You can imagine Hochstrasser carefully building up the image, one delicate wash over another, the kind of patient work that demands a certain connection with the object. I wonder what it was like for him, sitting there, contemplating a candle mold. What's so fascinating about it? Perhaps it was the shadows playing across the carved details, or the smooth, worn texture of the wood. Either way, he's not just painting a thing, he is showing us how the act of seeing can transform something so simple into something really special. It reminds me of folk art. This painting is a conversation across time, across mediums, about light, shadow, and the quiet beauty of everyday objects.