Jar c. 1937

Nicholas Amantea painted this “Jar” sometime in the middle of the 20th century using what looks like watercolor. What gets me about this painting is the way Amantea renders the subtle gradations of color on the surface of the jar. Look how the greyish-blue melts into a warmer, brownish tone near the bottom. This effect is achieved through delicate layering, a process of building up thin washes of color to create depth and luminosity. It’s a slow, considered approach, almost meditative. The more you look, the more the jar seems to glow. It’s like he is trying to get to the bottom of what this object is, slowly working it out through the act of looking and painting, a dialogue between hand, eye, and object. It reminds me a bit of Giorgio Morandi, who also spent his life obsessively painting the same bottles and jars, searching for their essence. It’s this kind of quiet intensity that makes art so compelling to me.