Platter c. 1937

This is Joseph Sudek's drawing of a Platter, created using what looks like graphite and maybe some colored pencil. The pale surface of the platter glows from within, like it has its own quiet light source. I love the precision of the line work, the way Sudek captures the subtle curve of the dish and its decorative edge. The drawing is incredibly restrained, almost like a technical illustration, but there's a tenderness to it too, a sense of care in the way he renders the object. Notice how the delicate floral pattern around the rim is not just represented, but almost felt. It reminds me of Giorgio Morandi's still lifes, but with a graphic twist, an attention to design. It is cool how Sudek gives us these multiple perspectives, like a flattened-out Cubist painting. You might think of the precision of someone like Agnes Martin here, but I think it is more like Charles Sheeler, who also blurred the lines between fine art and commercial design. Art is, after all, a conversation.