Jar c. 1936

Yolande Delasser made this drawing, ‘Jar’, using pencil and grey wash on paper. I can imagine her delicately coaxing the bird and leaves to emerge from the muted background. I wonder if Delasser was like me – did she make many attempts to get it right? The way the bird is drawn, it’s like she’s honoring a spirit, capturing something precious and fleeting. I can almost feel her breath on the page. The monochromatic palette is so quiet, yet the bird sings out. There’s a tenderness in the image. It's as though she’s in conversation with artists across time, all trying to pin down the essence of what they see and feel, to capture something of the world on a flat surface. The jar itself, rendered in light pencil is a ghost, a suggestion, as if the bird has flown from the vessel and now sits, solid and real. It reminds me that every painting is a site of inquiry, both for the artist and for us.