Silver Cream Pitcher c. 1936

This understated drawing of a silver cream pitcher was made on paper by Eugene La Foret. It reminds me that drawing can be a conversation, like one artist speaking quietly to another. I imagine La Foret gently coaxing this form into being. He must have been working with a soft implement, maybe charcoal or graphite, building tone by layering tiny, delicate marks. Look at how the light softly graduates across the body of the pitcher. I wonder if he was thinking about the subtle reflectivity of silver and how to capture that on a flat surface. The texture looks almost like skin, with the tiny pearl details like small beads of moisture. It is interesting that someone born in 1855 lived all the way until 1995! When I look at this artwork, I am reminded that artmaking is an ongoing, intergenerational exchange. Each mark, each decision, is a quiet nod to the past and a soft murmur to the future.