Settee c. 1936

This is Robert Brigadier’s “Settee”, a detailed drawing, made with pencil, that lays out the blueprint for a very handsome piece of furniture. The cool thing about seeing this kind of drawing is how close it is to the thing itself; it's all about making something real, not just an idea. I love the way each line is so clear and precise, yet when you look closer, you can see the subtle variations in the pencil strokes - Brigadier isn't afraid to show the marks, the process. The evenness of the color, the way the paper feels like a background hum, lets you focus on the important part of making something. The rhythm of the spindles and supports, with their carefully measured intervals, creates a sense of structure and order, but within that, there’s a hand-made quality that adds a nice warmth. This piece reminds me of the detailed studies Leonardo da Vinci made, or maybe some of the Shaker furniture drawings – there’s a similar dedication to craft and simplicity. To me, art lives in that in-between space where precision meets something human and imperfect.