Grille Doors of Wood 1936

Robert Taylor made this watercolor, Grille Doors of Wood, in 1936. You can tell he’s an architect by trade – he’s got a great eye for detail and decoration. I can imagine him, hunched over a table, carefully mapping out the dimensions and ornamentation. The palette is restrained - warm pinks, blues, and yellows. Look at the column detail with its vertical red stripes and stylized plant motif. He had a real knack for design. It’s not just the colors and shapes but also the meticulous way he rendered the building materials, stone, and brick. There's a conversation happening between the architecture and the natural world in the foliage motif. You can sense his love for architecture and decoration and his attempt to capture a sense of beauty and history. The artist is in dialogue with his own visual language and art history, creating a space for us to participate, too.