Cast Iron Gate and Fence c. 1936

Lucien Verbeke made this drawing of a cast iron gate and fence, and well, it’s lovely, isn’t it? Look at the delicate pencil work and the washes, describing the cool iron with a thin, watery paint. I wonder what Verbeke was thinking as he drew the twisting tendrils and stylized leaves, each one distinct, a kind of botanical yearning. Maybe he felt like he was creating a portrait of something alive, but made from something solid and unyielding. You know, sometimes I wonder how artists decide what to include and what to leave out. Like, why this gate and not another? Anyway, I see this drawing and I think about craft and industry, about art and life. Verbeke shows us how even the most functional objects can be beautiful, filled with meaning and feeling. And that's something that all artists, whether they're drawing gates or painting canvases, are always trying to do. It's all one big conversation, isn't it?