Silver Spout Cup c. 1938

Palmyra Pimentel made this drawing of a Silver Spout Cup at an unknown date, using pencil, ink, and watercolor on paper. It feels like a tonal exercise, where the artist sought to understand how light moves across the surface of a silver object. I can almost see Palmyra squinting to figure out the shadows and highlights. Maybe she started with light washes of watercolor, letting them dry, and then coming back with graphite pencil to build up the darker tones? There's something satisfying about the dedication to observation here. I think about Morandi, and how he kept painting the same bottles over and over. It wasn't just about the objects themselves, but about the act of seeing and representing, like a kind of meditation. It’s like Pimentel found a whole world of subtle grays and reflections in this simple cup.