Choir Rail 1938

Josephine Romano made this watercolor on paper, a rendering of a choir rail. The muted palette and precise rendering feel reverential, a quiet act of observation and devotion. Look at the vertical supports, how they almost seem to twist and turn? There's a real sense of the hand here, in the slight imperfections and variations. It reminds me of a sculptor coaxing form out of wood, each mark a response to the material's inherent qualities. The paint is applied thinly, almost transparently, allowing the paper to breathe through. You can almost feel the artist’s breath on the surface as she works. There’s an interesting tension in this piece between the decorative and the functional. The stylized floral motifs add a touch of whimsy to an otherwise austere architectural element, echoing the work of someone like Agnes Martin. This choir rail invites us to contemplate the beauty of simplicity, the power of subtle gestures, and the transformative potential of artmaking as a process.