Pa. German Jar c. 1938

This watercolor of a Pa. German Jar was painted by William L. Antrim, who lived from 1855 to 1995. It's a painting about a thing, but it's also about seeing. Antrim's got a kind of naive charm in his rendering of this jar. It's like he's feeling his way around the form, not quite getting it "right," but finding something interesting in the process. The colors are earthy – greens, browns, reds – all slightly muted, giving it a humble feel. There's this one spot, a chipped-away part on the jar's side. It's just a raw, pale patch that interrupts the smooth surface. It's a reminder that things break, get old, and carry a history. It reminds me a little of Morandi’s bottles. Both artists are taking humble, everyday objects and turning them into something worth looking at, worth contemplating. It suggests that beauty isn't just about perfection, but about the stories things carry, the way they change, and the simple act of really seeing.