Sleigh Bed c. 1936

Kurt Melzer made this drawing of a "Sleigh Bed" with pencil and watercolor wash sometime in the twentieth century, but there is something about its technical style that feels much earlier. Look at how the wash is applied with such care to capture the wooden surface of the bed frame. The coloring is very subtle, with a range of warm browns and tans used to create a sense of depth and dimension. The drawing is very precise, with clean lines and sharp details. It's almost like a blueprint or an instruction manual. I love the additional cross-section the artist has made, it looks like a strange ghostly figure is trapped inside the wood. Melzer's drawing is really interesting, a combination of technical drawing with a loving representation of the object. It reminds me a little of some of the furniture drawings of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, and makes me think about the way that art and design can inform each other. It's a good reminder that art doesn't always have to be about grand statements or big ideas; sometimes it can just be about paying attention to the beauty and detail in the world around us.