Covered Jar c. 1939

Alfred Parys made this "Covered Jar" sometime in the mid-20th century with watercolor and graphite on paper. There’s something deeply satisfying about the simplicity here, you know? The jar itself is rendered in these earthy tones— warm browns and subtle oranges, like a terracotta pot baking in the sun. I can almost smell the damp clay. The texture, achieved through delicate layering of pigment and graphite, feels so real. You can imagine running your fingers over the surface. I wonder what Parys was thinking as he worked on this. Was he simply trying to capture a likeness, or was he drawn to the jar's quiet presence? Maybe, like Giorgio Morandi, he was trying to grasp some fundamental truth about form and space. He has this uncanny ability to make something so ordinary, so beautiful. It reminds me of my own painting process, where I start with something simple and familiar, and then let the materials lead me to new and unexpected places. We are all in conversation. It is like one huge shared studio.