Crock 1939

Nicholas Amantea made this painting of a "Crock" at an unknown date, probably with watercolour or gouache. It's like a tender, intimate portrait of a humble object. The paint is thinly applied, allowing the texture of the paper to peek through, which gives the image a sense of lightness and air. Amantea captures the crock's rough surface with delicate washes of brown and gray, and those two blue flourishes on each side add a touch of whimsy, like a little dance on the surface of the pot. The way he handles the rim, with that touch of red peeking through, is just gorgeous. Looking at this, I think about the quiet beauty of everyday things and how artists can transform the mundane into something meaningful. It's like Morandi, but with pottery instead of bottles. It makes you wonder about all the untold stories these objects hold.