Miniature Chest 1939

Carl Buergerniss made this small watercolor drawing of a miniature chest sometime in the first half of the twentieth century. I wonder what went through Buergerniss's mind as he made this. Maybe he had a chest like this as a boy? I wonder if he filled it with marbles, or shells, or shiny rocks. The colors are earthy browns and creams, the kind you see in old photographs. The rendering is delicate and precise. It makes me think about the craft and skill involved in accurately representing something in paint. You can almost feel the texture of the animal hide stretched over the lid and sense the weight of the metal handle. The artist paid such attention to the details, like the small imperfections in the leather straps and the subtle shadows that define the form. We painters, we're all in conversation with each other. Buergerniss is in dialogue with the Dutch masters, who, like him, paid close attention to everyday objects. We see how one artist’s work inspires and informs another, building on ideas across time.