Silver Cream Pitcher 1935 - 1942

Isidore Steinberg made this drawing of a silver cream pitcher with graphite and watercolor, and the tones have a softness, a reflective glow. You can imagine him carefully observing this domestic object, probably in his house, noting the way light glances off the curves of the silver. I imagine Steinberg enjoyed rendering the play of light and shadow across the pitcher's surface. The muted palette – just greys, creams, and whites – gives it a ghostly, dreamlike quality, like something remembered rather than seen. Notice how lightly he touched the paper with his brush, allowing the form to emerge gradually through layers of delicate washes. There's a quietness to this image, a meditative quality. And, to me, that suggests a connection to other artists like Giorgio Morandi, who found endless inspiration in the humble still life. Artists keep drawing and building on the ideas of those that came before.