Glass c. 1936

Nicholas Amantea made this simple drawing of a glass, but when and where, we don’t know. It’s all soft greys and blues, a delicate rendering in what looks like coloured pencil on paper. I can imagine Amantea’s process, gently building up the tones to catch the facets of the glass. Look how the criss-cross pattern seems to dissolve as the glass curves away from us. You can imagine him squinting, trying to capture the way light refracts through the object, turning it into something almost abstract. It’s a humble subject, a simple domestic object, but rendered with such care and attention. I find that so moving. It reminds me that artists like Morandi spent their whole lives painting the same bottles, exploring subtle variations of form, light, and tone. It’s a reminder that the subject isn’t always what matters, but rather the act of seeing itself.