Pa. German Dower Chest c. 1938

This "Pa. German Dower Chest" was made by Bernard Krieger, sometime between 1855 and 1995, with what looks like watercolor. It's a painting OF a chest, not the chest itself. Imagine Krieger, studying this object, a real-life hope chest, trying to capture its essence on paper. The way he renders the wood grain is quite lovely; a kind of delicate brown marbling effect. I can almost feel the artist's hand moving across the paper, gently coaxing the colors to blend, trying to honor this piece of folk art. I wonder what he thought of the original artist? The floral motifs on the front panels feel like a nod to the tradition of Pennsylvania German folk art. What would it have been like to paint those stylized flowers and animals? The original maker had a very specific vocabulary with which to express themselves. I bet Krieger felt that connection, one artist to another, across time.