Egg Glass c. 1936

Editor: So this is "Egg Glass," a watercolor drawing by Raymond Manupelli from around 1936. There's something really compelling about this lone blue glass object isolated on the page. It has this surreal, almost dreamlike quality, but I’m not sure why. What’s your take on this, what stands out to you? Curator: It whispers a little, doesn't it? That almost hypnotic blue, the precise lines... It evokes, for me, a kind of nostalgic yearning for simpler times. This image feels steeped in the interwar period, when industrial design met a resurgence of classicism. There's this strange blend of austerity and whimsy here. Do you sense that too? As if this mundane object holds some greater truth, carefully observed? It reminds me, strangely, of a solitary lighthouse beam cutting through the fog, you know? What do you make of the precision, or perhaps the slightly labored attempt at it? Editor: Yes! The precision you mentioned gives it an almost hyperreal quality, which emphasizes its stillness even further. The clean lines give it some depth, which really does contrast with its otherwise dreamy affect. Do you think the limited color palette plays a part in that too? Curator: Absolutely. It feels deliberately muted, doesn’t it? As if the artist is suggesting that this singular object – an "Egg Glass", curiously titled - exists beyond the realm of vibrant reality, somehow rarefied. Perhaps even burdened by the weight of history or memory, like some antique vase from Tutankhamun's tomb... albeit reimagined by René Magritte! Almost mocking that weight... See what new stories we weave, each one adding to the layers already there. Editor: I can see that! Thanks! Now I feel like I'm looking at something ancient but futuristic. Curator: Yes, we make the picture anew with our gaze. That's its magic.