Carafe c. 1939

Van Silvay made this drawing of a carafe with what looks like coloured pencils. I can imagine Van Silvay working on this, slowly building up the tones to capture that reflective quality of the glass. It's like they’re coaxing the drawing into being, those layers adding depth, volume, and light. Notice how the pencil marks almost mimic the way light bounces off the glass. There's something about the way the lines curve that suggests the roundness of the carafe, almost like a hug. This drawing reminds me of Morandi’s bottles, in that it takes an everyday object and makes you really see it. Like, really *see* it. It's as if the artist is sharing a quiet moment of contemplation with us, inviting us to pause and consider the beauty in the ordinary. What happens when we really look at something? What does it feel like to see something for the first time? I believe it’s in that space of exchange where art really lives.