Jar with Cover c. 1938

Editor: This is Guido Metelli's "Jar with Cover," made around 1938. It's rendered in watercolor, and I’m struck by how it looks so grounded, earthy, almost like an illustration from a botanical journal. What draws your attention to this piece? Curator: Immediately, I see an engagement with materiality that transcends mere representation. Metelli isn’t just depicting a jar; he's highlighting the industrial processes embedded within its creation and subsequent use. Consider the labour involved in both manufacturing the physical jar itself, and also the industrial production of watercolour paints, and then also the making of paper. Editor: So, you're saying it's more about the process than the object? Curator: Exactly! The Realist style is an honest and unfiltered appreciation of the physical object being presented as part of commodity consumption in its own time. Each layer, the paint and the paper and the industrial ceramic manufacturing processes are themselves also a type of consumption. Editor: That's a great point. Curator: Do you see any hints of decay or use here? Editor: Yes, some cracks are hinted at in the lid which lies detached in front of the Jar. The lower half is notably dirtier. Curator: Precisely! This watercolour highlights that the jar has a real presence within material society and highlights its utility value within its life-cycle. Editor: I hadn't thought of it that way before, considering how everyday objects like jars embody entire production systems and societal cycles of use. Thank you. Curator: It shows how a seemingly simple rendering connects to larger themes of production and labour in the material world.