Creamer c. 1937

Joseph Sudek made this drawing of a creamer using pencil and watercolor. I can imagine Sudek’s tentative touch, how he might have built up the form of the creamer with delicate layers of translucent washes, almost caressing the paper. You can see a single rose with pink leaves painted on the front of the creamer; perhaps he added it last, or maybe it was the starting point. It is all very still, quiet and contemplative. The pale, muted palette gives the drawing a soft, dreamlike quality. The edges of the creamer aren’t sharply defined, instead they’re blurred, as if dissolving into the surrounding space. Maybe this has something to do with the passage of time, memory, or maybe, a longing for a simpler life. I think he likes the idea of "things". Painters are always in conversation with one another, riffing off each other's ideas and techniques. This one reminds me of the still life paintings by Morandi – both artists are masters of capturing the beauty and quiet poetry of everyday objects.