Fireplace Kettle c. 1936

Francis Law Durand made this drawing of a fireplace kettle, we don't know when, but look at the patience and the process involved. It's all soft, smudgy graphite, built up in layers to give the kettle its solid form. The surface of the kettle itself is fascinating. Durand coaxes out a metallic sheen from the graphite, it is dark and matte in some areas and reflective in others. Notice the gentle gradient as the kettle curves away from us. The way Durand renders the light on the metal makes it feel heavy, like you could pick it up. The handle too, has its own geometry, arching in a perfect, simple curve. Durand’s work reminds me a little of Giorgio Morandi’s still life paintings, these simple, everyday objects, elevated through careful observation and depiction. Art isn’t about grand gestures all the time, sometimes it’s about really looking. And maybe seeing something new in the mundane.