Flask c. 1938

Isidore Steinberg made this ‘Flask’ at an unknown date with what looks like watercolor or gouache on paper. I can imagine Isidore being really methodical and precise in his approach, carefully building up layers of color to capture the flask’s smooth, reflective surface, like those old-school still life painters, you know? The monochromatic palette creates a sense of understated elegance, and those subtle tonal variations really give it depth. I wonder if Steinberg was interested in the geometry of the flask, the way it balances this kind of solidity and fragility. Whatever his intentions, it's like he's saying: hey, even the simplest things can be beautiful if you really take the time to look. And that, to me, is what painting is all about. It’s like what Fairfield Porter was doing at the time. Artists are always building on each other's ideas, passing the brush, so to speak!